Be Still, Momma!

I am amazed by how fast children can go from playing well together to playing like they hate each other’s guts. (Sorry for the elementary school language!) I find myself all in one sentence praising Samuel for doing something well, then reprimanding him for doing something malicious. Things can deteriorate fairly fast around here!

That goes for me, too. Sometimes I feel like I even begin the morning on a sour note (hence my new year’s resolution for this year). Other times we begin the morning well, something goes wrong, something else goes wrong, and I end up crying in the bedroom. Events in our household tend to pile up and escape in frustration, with a lot of the blame falling on me.

What does a parent do about all this frustration and angst? As the mom of the family, I feel like I determine a large amount of how the day transpires. Do I greet the children with joy, or do I resent them for not allowing me to sleep an extra five minutes? Do I thank God for their sweet, expectant faces, or grumble because they made a mess while waiting for me to get out of bed? Most mornings my heart is not in the right place, but far from it. Miles away, in fact.

One of my favorite Bible verses as a child was Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” A few evenings ago, my husband put the kids to bed so I could go sit at a coffee shop, wonder about my life, and write down my thoughts. I decided to meditate on Psalm 46:10.

Be still. This one command entails so many things. We must stop and listen. We must tune our hearts to the music of God’s Word and listen to the melody His words sing to us. Sometimes we need to still our actions, and sometimes we need to still our hearts. Most of the time we need to still both. We can do this by physically stopping what we are doing, taking a deep breath, and surrendering our thoughts to God in prayer and reciting Scripture. We can also do this by changing the path of our thoughts to follow God’s ways instead of our own. 

This is an excellent reminder for me! I tend to allow ideas to build in my mind until I reach a point where I can’t stop my own thoughts. I need to flee to Jesus instead of letting my thoughts race away. I know He is faithful and will provide the roadblock I need.

Know that I am God.I love the simplicity of this command. Is God really who He says He is? Absolutely! God tells us that He is our refuge and strength. He is our helper, He is with us, and He is our fortress. He is powerful and He will be exalted among the nations (Psalm 46). He always keeps His promises, so we can rely on every one of His attributes. 

As sinful people, we all go through times of doubt. During these times, what I find most helpful is studying history, both the history of the world and my own history. That might sound strange, but we must remember that every piece of evidence from the past points to our extraordinary God. God knew Jerusalem would be taken captive. God knew Rome would fall. God knew that terrible people would take His son and nail Him to a cross to die, rise again, and bring redemption to His people. God planned those events from the very beginning. He is the author, sustainer, and comforter of the world. God also planned every event in each of our lives, down to the smallest detail. God cares about each of His people. He has a place for all of us in His story. We know that He is God as we study the Bible and as we study our own history.

How can we apply this verse to those moments in motherhood when everything seems to break into chaos all at once? Or really any moment of anxiety in life? First, we can stop what we are doing and look to Jesus, our Savior. Second, we can recall all those moments in our lives when God showed His faithfulness to us and to others. They will bring us joy and comfort as we draw closer to Jesus during those long days of diapers and discipline.

“Be still, and know that I am God!”