Linger Longer With The Lord

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 31, 2017

Be still, and know I am God… The Lord Almighty is with us. Psalm 46:10, 11

The older I get the longer I want to linger with good people and good times. When I was a young man I would rush from place to place, person to person and experience to experience. But there is something vastly richer and more fulfilling in remaining still and present with special people and memorable places. On a recent guys weekend, our 11th year in a row, we met at a friend’s cabin nestled on the cusp of North Georgia’s rolling and timber laden mountains. I could have stayed until the next weekend, emotionally inhaling God’s refreshing and rejuvenating creation, while laughing and crying with my band of brothers. My soul longs to linger with the Lord in stillness.

What does it mean to be still and know God? Much more than a motionless body, stillness serenades the soul with an inner tranquility so the cares of this world lose their caustic control. To know God is the pinnacle of knowledge;  He is all knowing and generous in revealing His grand design. Like an iconic artist, our Creator invites us to sit at His feet and watch Him create something out of nothing or add brush strokes of His brilliance to brighten our lives. Since the Lord is with us we need not rush away, but wait with Him in eager anticipation.

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7), “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear” (Psalm 46:1-2).

Are you seeking help from inferior helpers? Why not go to the One who calmed the seas, who made its surface walkable and who fills the oceans to overflowing. You have an ever-present Helper who is waiting for you to seek His face in trust. The fruit of a frantic pace is anxiety, but the fruit of faith is peace. The roots of aspen trees intertwine in a quiet and stable community of God’s creation. Linger with the Lord so your root system of righteousness goes deeper with Christ and His followers. Linger longer with the Lord and you will linger longer for the Lord.

What appointment is more important than meeting with your Maker? What investment is more valuable than intimacy with your Savior Jesus? What experience is more enjoyable than experiencing God? Stillness is a command but also a sacred comfort. How does a child feel when they crawl up onto their loving parent’s lap? Love, peace, and joy for sure. How much more does our heavenly Father caress our heart with His grace and kiss our head with His kindness. When we linger in our Lord’s presence we receive the gift of His ever-present help.

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:9-11).

Prayer

Application

Related Reading

Post/Tweet today

Worship Resource