August Mid-Month Moments by Connie Inglis

 Mid-Month Moments

A few months ago, my niece, who loves animal trivia, began talking about her recent fascination with hummingbirds. For instance, a hummingbird's wings flap an average of 60-80 times per SECOND, and their hearts beat an average of 1,260 times per minute. As well, they consume twice their body weight in nectar per day. Can you imagine eating that much?!

So, when a hummingbird arrived at my bright-pink calibrachoa flowers recently while I was out on the front porch having my morning devotions, I began thinking about this little bird--how it silently zips from flower to flower, seeking nectar out of necessity, and then it's gone..

And that got me thinking about silence vs stillness, and the difference when it comes to our spiritual lives because, even though that hummingbird was silent, it was far from being still.

Here are the two definitions according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Silence: 1. forbearance from speech or noise; 2. absence of sound or noise

Stillness: a state of freedom from storm or disturbance

God calls us to the latter (although often the former is needed). Psalm 46:10 (NIV) says, ""Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

The NASB Bible translates that first command as, "Cease striving."

I don't know about you but there are times when I wake in the dead of night, in the silence, and though my body remains quiet, my mind is suddenly far from being still. I worry. I make plans. I fear.

We read in Exodus 14 the story of the Israelites fleeing from Pharaoh and his armies only to arrive at the Red Sea with no way to cross. They are forced to physically stop.(It's also night, according to vs.20.) But are they still? No, They are talking: murmuring, grumbling, complaining. They are worried. They are fearful. They wish they were back in Egypt. Oh those Israelites. But wait--oh how I can find myself in that same place.

And Moses speaks out for God. Ex. 14:13,14: Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

"The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

And, throughout the night, God moved and worked and revealed His power. He re-positioned His pillar of cloud and fire behind the Israelite camp, still offering light for the Isrealites but becoming a cloak of darkness for the Egyptians. I love that image! Then, throughout the night (vs. 21), He drove the sea back to create the Israelites' path to freedom. Then, just before dawn, God looks down through the pillar and throws the Egyptian armies into confusion. While that's going on, He commands Moses to close the sea and the entire army that had gone down into the sea, drowned.

And why did God do this? In verse four, God says,"I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord." And verse 31 says, "the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant."

That same God fights for us, we need only be still. We need only trust in Him and let Him reveal His glory. Even in the dead of night, He is moving and working. Again, we need only be still and trust in that same God that rescued the Israelites from the Egyptians that day (and night).

Isaiah 26: 3,4,8,12:

You will keep in perfect peace

    those whose minds are steadfast,

    because they trust in you.

4 Trust in the Lord forever,

    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.

8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,

    we wait for you;

your name and renown

    are the desire of our hearts.

12 Lord, you establish peace for us;

    all that we have accomplished you have done for us.

My prayer for us all is that we will be still - that our hearts and minds will trust; whether it's in the dead of night or in the activities of the day (yes, even in our activity we can have a still heart and mind), may we be people of peace, not striving or fretting or fearing. But resting. Because God is on our side. He is behind us and with us and before us. May we all live our lives from that place of peace.

Resting, resting,

Connie

August 30, 2018

Mid-Month Moments are past devotionals written by Connie Inglis that she shared each week when she was InScribe's spiritual advisor. (Originally called 'Mid-Week Moments') They are shared from her archives with permission in the middle of each month.