JUST BE

I am a doer. I am a fixer. My daughter once referred to me as the Energizer Bunny®. Probably the longest I sit still is when I am in my recliner with a book in my hands, having nodded off in momentary slumber. So how can I just be? And what does “just be” mean anyway?
A favorite scripture for many people is “Be still and know that I am God…” from Psalm 46:10a (KJV). Could “be still” and “just be” fit together some way? The NASB version of Psalm 46:10a puts it this way, “Cease striving, and know that I am God...” When we read and consider all of Psalm 46 we realize it is about God’s protection to us; that’s when the phrases “Be still” and “Cease striving” make even more sense.
We have all heard of the need for lifeguards to calm near-drowning victims before they can save them or their task is going to be much more difficult or impossible. With that in mind, are we near-drowning victims in the sea of life, refusing the calm assurance of the help God is offering when He tells us to “Be Still”, to “Cease striving”, maybe to “Just be”?
Does a lifeguard ask a near-drowning victim to be the hero and/or to take on the complete job of bringing himself/herself into the safety of the shore? No, but the one being saved in our scenario does bear some responsibility, that of being still, to cease striving, to just be, while allowing the would-be rescuer to do his/her work.
Jesus was the Ultimate Lifeguard when He died once for all that He might bring us to God (I Peter 3:18) and now we have the responsibility of resting in His promises as we get back up to walk on the shore or swim in the surf because we live in a troubled world much like the one described in Psalm 46. And as we do we can “just be” because God wants us to cease striving and know that He is God.
Just be.
©Marilyn Sue (Libby) Moore 6-2-09