Just Be Still and Know

So the other day I stopped at Publix to grab some Swiffers for the house I was on my way to clean. I couldn't remember if the client needed them or not, and I couldn't clean her house without them, so I stopped. As I parked, I spotted a friend from church, and we stood in the parking lot to chat. She was leaving, so I helped her with her bags and took her buggy back for her. What I didn't notice at the time was that I dropped my keys in the front  part of the grocery cart, walked across the parking lot, and parked it inside. I didn't need it, so I kept on walking. It wasn't until I checked out that I realized I had no keys.

When I retraced my steps, I knew what must have happened. I went back to the front, but although I literally had been in the store less than ten minutes, someone had come in right behind me and taken the buggy and my keys. I walked through the store to see if I could spot them  Of course, every little old lady in the store had plopped her grandma purse in the very same place I had set my keys, so I knew they must be completely covered. After a short conversation with the store manager, I decided that the safest thing to do, since no one listens to announcements in grocery stores, was to stand at the customer service desk and wait.

As I stood there and watched every person check out, I reflected on my plight. Waiting is so hard. I've never been good at it. (Is anyone?) I thought about all the things in my life I'm waiting on God for right now, and I've been searching my heart ever since to see if I'm waiting on Him in the same certainty with which I waited for those keys. As inconvenient as it was to stand there and just wait, I didn't wonder if the keys would resurface. I didn't doubt that they were in that store somewhere. I knew for an absolute fact that they were there, and I knew that if I just waited long enough, they would appear. I'm disappointed to admit that that's not exactly how I've been waiting on God.

Psalm 37:7 says "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act." Why have I not been waiting on God with confidence and full expectation of the blessings I desire? The Word says to "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart." (Psalm 37:4, Amplified Bible) The Hebrew word for delight, I've found, means to be happy about, take exquisite delight; to make merry over. Am I happy about God, about who He is and who He is to me? Yes! Do I have an exquisite romance with Him? Absolutely....nothing compares to the moment by moment relationship I have with Him. Nothing comes close to the intimate experience of seeking him, of finding Him and closing myself in with Him, of feeling Him all around me, inside and out. Yes, I do delight myself in the Lord. So, it may not be the way I ask or expect, but just as sure as those keys returned to me, He WILL give me those things my heart secretly desires the most. I know Him, and that's all I need to know. I think it's time to just be still, wait, and look for the blessings that are surely headed my way.

Great is thy faithfulness, O God, my Father! Thank You for showing me how proper waiting is done. Thank You that every experience can teach me something about my relationship with You. Even in the mundane moments of life, let me find Your goodness and Your glory. Teach this squirmy child how to just be still and know.

In His steadfast love,

Amy

copyright 2010, Amy Wallace