Ntonhle Dlamini

Recap:

On day 1 we talked about seeking God’s kingdom and His Righteousness.

Part of seeking God’s kingdom is surrendering to His will and desiring His will above your own.

Today’s devotional deals with exactly that.

We’re being instructed to stop forcing things and to not desire anything so desperately that you step out of God’s will to obtain it. Like I mentioned earlier this week, desiring or loving anyone/anything above God is idolatry, which God hates.

Our scripture today is very famous verse , Psalm 46:10.

But we’re going to dive deeper into it.

So it says,

Psalms 46:10 AMP

[10] “Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”

Be still, which ,contrary to popular belief doesn’t actually mean be silent.

it’s translated from the Hebrew word Raphah- meaning:

Relax, let go, withdraw, sink down, release or cease striving.

Striving by contrast means :

To devote serious effort or energy

To struggle in opposition

To make an effort to accomplish something.

Basically it means focused ,intentional effort towards a goal.

That’s what not to do, according to scripture.

How to stop though?

As we learned yesterday (Day 2- Metanoia) a change in behavior begins with a change in perspective or mentality.

To know something is to internalize it and accept it as a fact.

What is that something?

It is the fact that He alone is God and as such doesn’t require our help, advice or input.

I will be exalted:

If you let go and let God , then you give Him space to do what only He can do and then He gets all the glory because you had no involvement in the miraculous outcome.

God’s glory is something we actually should strive for.

We must echo John’s sentiments in John 3:30 – He must increase and I must decrease.

We often underestimate the value of obedience in God’s plan for our lives.

Consider this, instead of your testimony impacting just the people around you or your inner circle , you could potentially be a blessing in the lives of people across the world, thus God being exalted among the nations and in the earth.

May God help us to obey and to relax. May He help us to surrender and release what little control we think we have. May we rest in His wisdom and trust in His unconditional love for us.

Amen