Be Still and Know

For some of us, it is difficult to be still.  I think there are those of us who have a tendency to be active, to be moving, to be thinking, to be correcting, to be improving, to be building, to be growing, to be creating...but, to be still?  I really believe that there is a genetic predisposition for some of us to NOT be still.  Some may consider this tendency to be controlled by an anxious type personality or a type A type personality.

For those of us who have a difficult time being still, I think we have to understand we have to learn to be still.  Sometimes, it can be easy to be still.  It may be easier to be still on vacation looking at a beautiful blue ocean with no pending responsibility.  It may be more difficult to be still when faced with a grim diagnosis, a problem financially, or a problem in our relationships.  With all the information we have available, it would seem that if we just work hard enough, search hard enough or think hard enough, that we could fix any problem.

Well, I think there are times when God just wants us to be still...because when we allow ourselves to be still, we can know that He is God.

Learning To Be...

In Philipians 4:12, Paul states he has learned the secret of being content .  It is helpful for me to remember that mental states of being take time to master.  In other words, we need to "learn" to be content.  In addition, it seems that we need to "learn" to be at peace.  We need to "learn" to be calm and controlled.  We need to "learn" to be self disciplined.  As life goes on and we are faced with new opportunities, experiences, trials and challenges, this "learning" continues.

In fact, it is through new trials and challenges that we are able to apply the things we have learned in the past, but we must press on to learn new methods and approaches when our worlds are rocked.

Philipians 4:12  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

http://www.northpoint.org/messages/free

What are your true limits?

I recently was fortunate to spend some time with my friend who is 100 years old...almost 101.  He insisted I take his book home entitled, Inside Seal Team Six by Don Mann.  Since my friend was a Frogman in WWII, I wasn't going to argue with him more than I already had.    I figure I will call him and share with him some of the things I am learning from this book.

One of my favorite quotes so far by Don Mann is, "Because I figure if you never push beyond what you think your true limits are, you will never know your true abilities."  He insists that most people have no idea what their true limits are.

Above all else, guard your heart!

I think this is great advice we find in Proverbs 4:23-27.  I find the advice that follows the first sentence helpful:

1.  Think about and control what you say.
2.  Think about and control what you see.
3.  Think about and control where you go.

In other words, what we say, what we see and where we go all impact our spiritual heart health.

When God is silent, is He absent?

Here is a great message addressing God's silence when it seems our lives are being turned upside down:
http://www.northpoint.org/messages/when-god

Right thinking over time

with God's help equals a changed life (Rodney Anderson).  There is power in changing or mind.

We DEMOLISH arguments!

Have you ever been in a real dark place mentally or spiritually?   Have you ever had to battle thoughts so hard that you weren't sure if you would live?  I am convinced that we need to be intense and intentional about guarding our hearts and our minds.  When the challenges of life come, we have got to feed our minds and our hearts with good food.  We have to work out our minds and our spirits by "...demolishing arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.  We must take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ."  2 Corinthians 10:5.

Here are a few suggestions how to do guard our hearts and minds:
1.  Listen to Podcasts/messages on line
2.  Memorize scripture
3.  State over and over sentences like, "To know His love that surpasses knowledge," "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind," "If you hold to my teaching you will know the truth and then the truth will set you free," "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about these things."