Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Scripture Thursday ~ Be Still

Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10a

I live in a beautiful coastal area of Maine, which provides me many opportunities to walk along the ocean, or in the woods and see the beautiful things God has provided for us.  I'm often reminded of Psalm 46:10 when I look around, breathe in fresh air, and hear nothing but the sounds of nature, the waves, trees rustling, or birds singing.

The images above are some scenes I've photographed over time, as I was still, and absorbed my beautiful and peaceful surroundings. 

We live in a fast paced, electronic society today with computers and Emails, cell phones and texting, social media, projects, deadlines, commitments, stress!!!    Responses are expected to be instant. 



When we spend time with the Lord, away from the busyness of life, we need to tune out or turn off these electronic distractions.  Some of us have more options for quiet time than others.

Regardless of our circumstances, God tells us in this scripture to:


BE STILL!

Stop!

Breathe!





Take a moment of quietness to:
reflect on Him;

to spend time with Him;
to hear His voice.


Even Jesus’ ministry here on earth, flowed out of quiet time with his Father. 
Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight,
He went out and departed to a solitary place;
and there He prayed

Mark 1:35 (NKJV)



What defines being still?
Free from distractions
Free from a cluttered mind
Reading your Bible
Spending time in Prayer
Breathing in God’s Creation
Listening to calming worship music



Why should we be still?
We de-stress
We clear our mind of distractions
We draw peace and wisdom from God’s word
God desires us to spend time with Him
We get to know Him better
Our lives are fuller because of Him


This is a scrapbook page I made some time ago, which reflects this scripture to me.  The soft colors, the woman picking flowers in her garden, and all the little touches make me happy and content when I look at it. 




My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.

Psalm 62:5






Still with Thee, O my God,
I would desire to be;
By day, by night, at home, abroad,
I would be still with Thee.
With Thee when dawn comes in
And calls me back to care,
Each day returning to begin
With Thee, my God, in prayer.


With Thee when darkness brings
The signal of repose,
Calm in the shadow of Thy wings,
Mine eyelids I would close.

With Thee, in Thee, by faith
Abiding, I would be;
By day, by night, in life, in death,
I would be still with Thee.

James D. Burns, 1857







Blessings to you dear ones as you carry on through your week.
 

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17 comments:

  1. Thank you for the reminder of these beautiful and comforting scriptures. xo

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  2. Beautiful post....to be still before the Lord is the most peaceful,and restful thing I know. That can calm the spirit and body more than anything else ever could.I would love to visit your part of the country someday....the sights would be a blessing to me. Thanks for sharing the pictures dear friend

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  3. Thank you Abby - we so need to be reminded to take time to simply 'be' and be with God.
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  4. What you wrote about is something I have been telling myself to do - be still. Thank you, Abby, for the words of encouragement and also challenge.

    Have a great long weekend :)

    Hugs to you!

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  5. Thank you for your inspiration and encouragement to "be still" away from the hurriedness of life. God is so good! I'm so thankful that He wants us alone with Him! Wonderful!!!

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  6. Great thought dear Abby, needed exactly for today's world. The poem is so beautiful and your photos are fabulous.
    This is my other blog, where I write about my personal experiences with God and about my daily life, mostly about mothering. Hope it blesses you too.
    Blessings
    Sarah

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  7. So beautiful, Abby. You certainly do live in a gorgeous corner. I appreciated what you had to say about taking time to be still and pray. Last night as I lay in my bed closing out the day I was praying except that my thoughts kept straying as they are wont to do. Finally, I had corralled it again and I remember falling asleep with this profound (not very) communication: How, Father, did you think to give the peepers such a sweet song? Ha! I hope that God was as amused as I was when I remembered it this morning. Have a beautiful day in spite of the rain!

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  8. Good morning, Abby! May God help each of us to be still and listen. You are correct...we live in busyness. It seems to take much effort to be still. Oh how my heart desires stillness before the Lord! Have a blessed day~~angela

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  9. Beautiful Abby and so timely! Thank you!

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  10. Aww this post is so sweet! It makes me happy too :)

    Remember what I said about nature? Well, I've been getting reminders quite often lately, lol. There's a nest of baby birds in the roof near where my office desk is located. Their little chirps sound so cute!

    When I hear them it gives me a little "reminder" of sorts, which basically means to me that I don't always have to get out into nature to feel closer to God.

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  11. Popping in to say "Hello!"

    I just found you on Pinterest while looking through Mrs. Smith's followers.

    ♥Hope

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  12. Thank you for the encouragement! It is so true that as the things of the world and our lives swirl around us we need to stop and be still so we can hear the Lord and rest in Him!

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  13. There is such wisdom in this. It is so important to "be still"...and even more so to "be still" in order that we may know that He is God.

    Thanks for your visit to Thinking About Home! I do hope that you'll get to meet up with Vee. You'll have a great time, I'm sure!

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  14. I was praying about this very thing this morning -- learning to be still!
    Lovely post and lovely art!

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  15. Thanks for the much needed reminder to be still! I'm here from Jennifer's linky.
    My mama grew up in Bath, Maine. I love Maine!

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  16. Beautiful! I love, love, love your work and so enjoy your reminders to put the Lord first!

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