I have a confession...I am a fixer. Can you relate? I am the person that likes to "fix" the problems. When my kids come to me with a problem...I figure a way to fix it with a kiss or bandaid. If my husband has a problem...I figure a way to fix it with a letter or scripture. Being in ministry, People come to me daily with their problems and I immediately go into "OK, lets come up with a plan and see if we can fix this thing." It is my way of controlling the world in which I live in because if I can control it then I can fix it and everything will be ok. I don't like seeing people hurt and/or in pain so the easiest thing to do is try to fix it. Well, over the past couple of months my heart has been so overwhelmed and broken with all the problems I can't fix....like the pain my friend is going through in her marriage and nobody even knows it or the friend who is struggling with the most likely death of her TWO children or the girl that has struggled with years of abuse and the only way "she feels" loved is in the arms of another girl and on and on....
Well, I was laying in bed crying out to God about how I could help or "fix" them...I finally looked up and there on my wall were the letters I had put a few months back that read..."Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10
First, he calls us to "Be Still"...not do more...not serve more....not fix more but be still. Why? Ask Mary and Martha (Luke 10). I have always felt bad for Martha because all she wanted to do was serve. There is nothing wrong with serving in fact, we are called to serve. Jesus himself said, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and and to give his life as a ransom for many." What Martha was doing wasn't wrong she was just doing it in the wrong order. We are suppose to sit then serve. Sit at his feet so then we can serve. Sit at his feet so we know how to serve. Sit at his feet so we know when to serve. My prayer times were so filled with praying for the needs of other people that I forgot to just sit and marvel and who He was. I forgot to sit and be filled up. I forgot to sit and just "be still."
The second part of that verse reminded me that He is God and I am not. I was never intended to save anyone from their problems or even fix their problems. That is a weight I was never intended to bear. I was trying to be what only Jesus can....their Savior. We are not called to fix problems just LISTEN and point them into the direction of the ONE who can....Jesus. He is God, comforter, leader, provider, healer...ALL that we need.
So....My word for 2012 is Still. When there is a need...be STILL. When there is a problem...be STILL. When I am angry....be STILL. When I am overwhelmed....be STILL. This is not going to be easy for me, but in the words of Bethany Hamilton,"I don't need easy, I just need possible."
I would love to hear your WORD for 2012!!
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2 comments:
Strangely enough, the verse you mentioned, which I think is actually Psalm 46:10, is the verse that I've been relying on a ton since the beginning of this year.
I'm studying abroad in Africa, so I've been going through some major culture shock and homesickness and so far, it's been really difficult. But there have been times where I'm really upset or want to say something that may not be the right thing to say at the time, and I just hear the voice of God in my head telling me to be still, because He will take care of it all.
So, I would have to agree completely with you on your word, because that's how I'm trying to focus my life in times of struggle, to just be still in the presence of Him and the peace He can bring me.
Continues to be one of my favorite verses.
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