I have wasted these times in my life so often, by not listening.

I am also reminded of Psalm 23:2, “He makes me lie down in green pastures…”  I remember a preacher saying once that shepherds will sometimes break the leg of a sheep if it keeps running off.  In this passage, it’s very possible that that is what is meant by “making” me lie down.  It can be painful, both the breaking and the healing, sometimes excruciatingly so, but because of the process, we live.  I wonder how much further ahead I would be if I had just been still and listened willingly instead of requiring God to break me?  I can learn from that though and try to pay closer attention as I walk purposefully though His plan for me.

Things are very quiet right now.  He really is restoring my soul (mind, will, and emotions.)  I feel distracted by school even.  I wonder how long the quiet will last, but I’m excited about hearing my Father’s voice.   He is so wise, and always imparts that wisdom to me.  I think it’s more that I’m becoming a part of Him so I can rely on Him and His wisdom, not that He is actually giving me anything.

It’s really cool how fast He works too.  Sometimes I think my heart will break, but all I have to do is remember He is there and start visiting with him, and He soothes me.  Honestly, how do people live without this comfort in their lives?  I don’t believe I could do it.

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman
Tuesday, May 25 2010

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) .

Do you find yourself in a place of nothingness? There is a time and place in our walk with God in which He sets us in a place of isolation and waiting. It is a place in which all past experiences are of no value. It is a time of such stillness that it can disturb the most faithful if we do not understand that He is the one who has brought us to this place for only a season. It is as if God has placed a wall around us. No new opportunities – simply inactivity.

During these times, God is calling us aside to fashion something new in us. It is a place of nothingness designed to call us to deeper roots of prayer and faith. It is not a comfortable place, especially for a task-driven workplace believer. Our nature cries out, “You must do something” while God is saying, “Be still and know that I am God.” You know the signs that you have been brought into this place when He has removed many things from your life and you can’t seem to change anything. Perhaps you are unemployed. Perhaps you are laid up with an illness.

Many people live a very planned and orchestrated life where they know almost everything that will happen. But for people in whom God is performing a deeper work, He brings them into a time of quietness that seems almost eerie. They cannot see what God is doing. They just know that He is doing a work that cannot be explained to themselves or to others.

Has God brought you to a place of nothingness? Be still and know that He really is God. When this happens, your nothingness will be turned into something you will value for the rest of your life.

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2 daily devotionals are a service of Marketplace Leaders Ministries