February 3

“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

Can you swim? Are you afraid of water? Is it something that you have always wanted to do? Well I know that water is something that has been a mystery to a lot of people because it tends to do what it pleases.

I learned to swim at a very early age. It was back in the day when schools walked to their local pool. I waited in line to be dropped into the pool by my teacher, ‘arm dangle style’. The fear I felt when my feet couldn’t touch the bottom soon dissipated when I realised it was in the shallow end and I was allowed to splash. There was one teacher on the side and at least two in the pool positioning our arms and legs and showing us exactly how it should be done. There is no better feeling of satisfaction when you realise that the water can hold your weight if you allow it to. The key is to recognise that the water is more powerful than you could ever be and you have to work with it.

If you have ever had the opportunity to watch a swimming gala, you will notice that the swimmers who are going the fastest are those with the most fluid movements. They have discovered how to get the most out of the water by not fighting it. Those who struggle are those who haven’t learned how to be still and move. That may seem a contradiction in terms but the New Living Translation puts it this way

“Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

In other words stop trying so hard, stop expending all of you energy doing something that God could do so much better for you if you would only recognise who He is. He is there in the water with us, in fact He controls the water. In Mark 4:39 where He instructs the waves with the words,

"Peace be still!"

The literal translation of, Be Still, taken from the Greek, is – Hush, in modern terms: Shut Up!

Stop fighting Him - let Him get the best out of you. Enjoy your day and know that each one of you reading this has been prayed for and God is only waiting for you to ask Him, and to be still.