Devotion

Be Still, My Soul

/ Gail Johnson / 11 Comments

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 KJV

If I asked you what you needed today, what would be your answer? For those I see and talk with, their answer is rest for a weary heart and mind. In today’s world, with twenty-four-hour news channels, it is easy to become overwhelmed. But God remains the same no matter our circumstances.

The Author

When researching her name, there’s not much you find about Katharina A. von Schlegel, except she was a German hymn writer who wrote twenty-nine hymns. But those hymns speak volumes about the woman. Her writing suggests she had a personal relationship with the Lord and relied on the Scriptures for comfort. The words imply she may have learned this particular lesson through difficult circumstances.

Be Still, My Soul was written in German and later translated into English by Jane Laurie Borthwick. The hymn is sung to the tune of Finlandia, written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

In his book, Then Sings My Soul, 250 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories, Robert J. Morgan shares the story of Virgil J. Bachman, a soldier in WWII. Bachman states that he and other soldiers sang Be Still, My Soul in a small stucco church in France. The news from the front wasn’t good, and the men were discouraged. The assurance found in the words was desperately needed. He writes the peace he felt when leaving that little church was a gift from the Holy Spirit.

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The Song

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side:
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the veil of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay,
From His own fullness, all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

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Today’s Thoughts

There are truths in Katharina A. von Schlegel’s song that will help us through difficult days, just as they did Virgil J. Bachman in war-torn France. Truths such as keeping our hearts and minds on the Lord and not letting anything shake our confidence. The waves and winds know His voice. Faithful is the Lord!

Let those truths settle into your spirit, dear friend.

Interestingly, “be still” is the Hebrew word raphah (Strong’s H7503), which leads us to the Hebrew word rapha (Strong’s H7495).

Raphah: A primitive root; to slacken (in many applications, literally or figuratively): – abate, cease, consume, draw [toward evening], fail, (be) faint, be (wax) feeble, forsake, idle, leave, let alone (go, down), (be) slack, stay, be still, be slothful, (be) weak (-en). See H7495. Strong’s Concordance

Rapha: A primitive root; properly to mend (by stitching), that is, (figuratively) to cure: – cure, (cause to) heal, physician, repair, X thoroughly, make whole. See H7503. Strong’s Concordance

Why is this interesting to this writer? Because Rapha is translated as “heal” in Jeremiah 17:14.

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

Some of us know the healing properties of physical rest. Others, not so much. I can say that because I used to be the nonstop dynamo who thought breaks were for wimps. I avoided resting like the coughing customer over in the next checkout lane. Busyness allowed me to avoid the wounds and mistakes I had buried. But then I learned (and am still learning) that we heal when the body, mind, and spirit rest in God.

Only God can do certain things. In several stories in the Bible, the Lord told the people to be still because there was nothing the people could do. They had to let go and let God, as the saying goes.

Being still is an art. So what does it mean and how do we start?

Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. Psalm 62:1-2

Waiteth: from H1820; stillness; adverbially silently; abstractly quiet, trust: – silence, silent, waiteth. (Strong’s H1747)

The idea is there is no apprehension because our faith is in God, and we trust Him in all circumstances.

During my study, I came across Got Questions, Your Questions. Biblical Answers. In the article, the writer writes, “Faith is inseparable from trust; it’s the confidence that God can and will do what He says in His Word. Faith includes both intellectual assent to something and trust in it.”

Later, he writes, “Faith without trust is not faith. Belief without reliance is empty.” To demonstrate, he compares faith and trust to a trust fall. A trust fall is when you turn your back to someone you have faith in and fall backward, trusting they will catch you. (You can read the article here.)

After reading that, we must ask ourselves if we trust the Lord to do what He said He would do in His Word. If yes, why are our souls tossed about upon a sea of doubt? If the answer is no, then how can we learn to trust Him?

Trust is a decision, just like love. Trust increases with every trial. Faith multiplies with study and prayer. Perhaps when our souls learn to be still, we will find healing from our worries.

Pondering Prayer

/ Gail Johnson / 6 Comments

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Our hymn this month is Cleanse Me by J. Edwin Orr. This past week, I prayed David’s prayer in Psalm 139 and sang the hymn. I also read the prayers of Nehemiah, Daniel, and the Lord. I thought I’d share those scriptures. I will mark the things that stood out to me this week and over the past years.

I hope you will begin your own study!

David’s Prayer

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

Nehemiah’s Prayer

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Nehemiah 1:4-7 KJV

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Daniel’s Prayer

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. Daniel 9:3-6 KJV

The Lord’s Prayer

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

Scriptures on Prayer

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.-Matthew 6:9-13

And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. Mark 11:25-26

Family Matters

 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered. 1 Peter 3:7 KJV

Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 1 Peter 3:1 KJV

I added 1 Peter 3:7 because it deals with prayer. I shared Peter 3:1 because I didn’t want anyone to think I was picking on the husbands. 😉

Hope in Prayer

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:14-16 KJV

What is your favorite scripture on prayer? What do you think about these scriptures? What are your thoughts on the highlighted portions?

I enjoy pondering on prayer and its benefits! How about you?

Cleanse Me

/ Gail Johnson / 10 Comments

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. – Psalm 139:23-24

I like to think I am fully aware when it comes to my heart and mind. But life has taught me otherwise. Only God can plumb the depths of the heart and mind. David understood this truth. He cried out to the only One Who knew him better than he knew himself.

In this world where it’s so easy to compromise, we, too, need to cry out as David did. “Search me. Know my heart. See if there be any wicked way in me. Teach me your way and lead me in a plain path. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight.”

In Psalm 27, “plain path” means a flat and smooth country. Not a rugged trail surrounded by rocks and steep precipices. Such a hazardous route would only prove beneficial to the enemy. It is crucial to stay on the right path.

The Author

I believe J. Edwin Orr knew this same truth. This man was a dynamo when it came to spreading the gospel to all the regions.

J. Edwin Orr MA ThD ED PhD was a husband, father, baker, ordained minister, evangelist, Air Force chaplain, professor, author, and hymnist. To read more, visit https://www.jedwinorr.com/about-j-edwin-orr/

The Song

Search me, O God, and know my heart today; Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts I pray; See if there be some wicked way in me: Cleanse me from ev’ry sin, and set me free.

I praise Thee, Lord, for cleansing me from sin: Fulfill Thy word, and make me pure within; Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame: Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.

Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine: Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine; Take all my will, my passion, self and pride; I now surrender: Lord, in me abide.

O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee: Send a revival, start the work in me: Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply my need: For blessing now, O Lord, I humbly plead.

Cleanse Me – J. Edwin Orr – Maori Melody – Public Domain