A beautiful old hymn, “Be Still My Soul” was created through the work of three different composers. Katharina von Schlegel wrote the lyrics. One hundred years later Jane Borthwick translated this beautiful hymn into English from German. Finally, the great composer of Finland, Jean Sibelius, provided the tune from his music composition of “Finlandia.”

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend

Thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake

All now mysterious shall be bright at last

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone

Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last

Sometimes, one of the hardest things for a Christian to do is … nothing. Obviously, I need to explain.

Is it possible that we as Christians could often be just too busy? Even in our service for the Lord, could we be too busy at times?

We live in a very fast-paced society. Between our home life and job, we stay so busy, everything is a blur. Add to that the activity surrounding our church lives, and the days, weeks and months fly by. Before you know it, years are behind us, and we wonder where they went. How much of that time was used to relax and be quiet? I dare say, not much, if any.

Pastors are renowned for forsaking family time in favor of their church leadership responsibilities, but this isn’t wise. Others are just as busy in other activities until we are like bees around a hive, or ants over an ant hill.

The Lord expects us to rest. That is why He gave us a day of “rest.” That is the reason for sleep at night. The Israelites were to rest the fields every seven years. We all need rest. For the Christian there is an added benefit to rest. It is seen in the following verse:

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalms 46:10)

Obviously, we are to rest from our activities, our busy schedules, and take a “time-out.” On several occasions in the Scriptures we read where Jesus went “up into a mountain to pray.” Peter went upon the housetop to pray. Daniel prayed three times a day, every day.

If Jesus, who is God, felt that He needed to get away from the crowds occasionally to be in solitude with the Father, should not we? No child of God, who has ever lived, including the Apostle Paul, has ever had a ministry as important as Jesus’ ministry, but yet, Jesus needed the time to be quiet, “rest,” before the Father in Heaven.

Notice also, that Jesus did not wait until He had an opportunity to get away from the hustle and bustle. He made the opportunity. He walked away and got by himself to be alone with the Father. That is what it means to “rest,” to “be still and know that I am God.” What do we do? We make excuses. Oh, we’ve got a million of them. Excuses, excuses, excuses, all He hears from us are excuses.

One of the most important things in the Christian life is to diligently study God’s Word, daily, but even then, we need to take the time to “be still, and know that I am God.”

Have you ever tried to talk to someone while they were busy doing something else? Did you feel like you were getting their undivided attention? Could it be that God experiences this same feeling when He says to us, “be still, and know that I am God?” I’m sure it is. We think we are great multi-taskers, and we can listen to God while doing all these other things that “just have to get done.” Apparently, the Lord sees it differently, or He wouldn’t be telling us to “be still, and know that I am God.”

What is the number one reason for church attendance, whether it is in a church building, a home or under a tree … to be fed and equipped for service? Why did Jesus go off by Himself to be with the Father … to be fed and equipped for service?

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

When Jesus was alone with the Father, the Trinity met as one. The Son (1), the Father (2) and the Holy Spirit (3) met as one. The one God met in all three of His roles as God. When we are alone with God, there are two, us and our one God we serve. When we and a family member meet alone with God, we are three, us our family member and our one God we serve. If we are in a congregation of believers, we meet as multiples alone with God. The fact remains though there are times that he wants to be alone with His children, one on one, and for us to “be still, and know that I am God.” I believe this is part of what the Apostle Paul was saying to Timothy in the following verse.

“And that ye study to be quiet (emphasis mine), and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;” (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

Have you ever met with another person and they just rambled on and on? They’re talking like a Magpie and you can’t get a word in. Are we so much a chatterbox God can’t get a word in either? What He is trying to tell us is this; as He leads us to a quiet place, He is putting his fingers over our lips to hush us, saying, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

Grant Phillips

Our subject today is one that kicks me in the teeth. Perhaps you may feel the same.

If we are not a child of God, we certainly fall short of His glory, but what about those of us who are a child of God? Can we boast? No we cannot. We still fall short of His glory, but in His grace, His only begotten Son lifts us up in HIS glory to the Father. Thank God, when the Father looks at me, Jesus is standing in the gap. It has often been said, that we Christians are just saved sinners. Well, that is true. We still sin, and will continue to do so while in this world. It will be unimaginably fantastic to be with the Lord in Heaven and never have even a thought of sin, let alone an action.

As a Christian I am supposed to let my light shine before others.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

My light has been more like a candle placed outside in the weather trying to dodge the raindrops in order to keep burning. How about you?

The Son of God is like the sun in the sky that sheds light upon our earth’s moon. Guess who the moon represents? That’s right. As the moon reflects the light of the sun on a dark night, we are to reflect the light that comes from the Son in a dark world. Do we reflect the Son’s light in the darkness of the world around us?

Sometimes I imagine God looking down upon the earth, and when doing so I visualize His seeing various lights dotted here and there. Those lights are His children reflecting the light from the Son. In the church age preceding ours, the Philadelphian church age, there were many lights, but now there are few. The age of the Laodicea church doesn’t provide much light for those in darkness, but I am reminded of:

“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended [overcame] it not.” (John 1:5)

Thankfully, the hope of the world does not rest upon the dimness of the Laodicean church folk. The source of true Light is the Creator, Jesus the Christ.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

When I read that verse, I am assured that as dark as the world is becoming, those who will, may still come to the Light and not walk in darkness. Those who don’t know Him as their personal Savior may know Him, because He is still shining the Light of Truth through the thick darkness of sin. We who are His don’t have to be tripped up by the false teachings of man, because we have the Light of the world to guide our path.

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalms 119:105)

Are we, as a Christian, following Him? That is the only way to avoid walking in darkness. Many who are Christian, or claim to be, are not following Him in these last days. These times we live in are replete with temptations that we as Christians must face every day. I think the greatest of temptations for Christians in our country today would be complacency and laziness. Generally speaking, we have much materially, and have become too comfortable.

Could it be that we may taste the bitter herb of trials before our Lord returns for His Church? There is no doubt in my mind that Jesus will come for His Church prior to the beginning of the Tribulation, but how much worse will the world become first?

The Son of God is the light of the world, but He always works through His own to tell others of that Light. As the moon reflects the light of the sun, we should be reflecting the Light of the Son of God. Are we? I know this. Jesus wants all who will, to come to the Light. Does He have to prod His own first in order to reflect His Light to others that they may come to Him? Are we so comfortable in our complacency that He may need to shake our lives up a little to get us to shine for Him? I recall sometimes having to shake the flashlight because the batteries are low. Are our batteries low, and therefore need a good shaking to rouse us?

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.” (Exodus 35:2)

As far as our work to be done upon earth, many of us act as if the Sabbath of rest is here and there is no need to work. Sorry, but the seventh day of rest has not yet arrived. I personally believe we are in the sixth day, but whether it is the first, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth day, there is still work to be done. The seventh day of rest will be when we are with Him in Glory. In the meantime our lights are to be kept burning to be a lighthouse to others. It is no wonder that many souls are crashing into the rocky shores of life and being dragged down to the murky depths of sin. Many of the lighthouses are not providing a warning and showing the way to safety.

Every vile act of man is being perpetrated from the highest office in this land to the lowest of the low. Darkness is filling our land like a cancer eating away on a sick body. The warning of the Apostle Peter is being ignored.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8)

People are dying daily and going to hell because there was no light to direct them in the harbor. Our children are being attacked by the wiles of Satan and being led into his clutches by his lies. Churches are being overrun by the world’s lifestyle, instead of taking the message of life in Jesus Christ to the world. Christians are not being strengthened by the teaching of the Word because of the wolves in the pulpits. Christians are not growing due to simple spiritual laziness. Most in the churches today don’t even know the One who died and rose again for the Church, and is returning soon for His true Church.

It is imperative that our light shine in this dark world so we may reflect the Light of Jesus, for His coming is near.

Grant Phillips