It has just been 5 days this year and I already have attracted some form of virus that seems to like sinusoidal pattern. It works by spiking my body temperature to 103F then it pulls it down to 99F and mercilessly throws it back to 103F in no time. You get it right? The funny thing is I’m in the down cycle now. My body temperature is normal but the annoying bit is that my brain is as fresh as daisy at 11:47 in the night *Facepalm* Anyway enough with my rants! 😀 I’m happy to put my brain to work and calm the meds carefully injected by our sweet family doc. 

Seems like not a great start so far. Yet it is too wonderful a start to me because of the lessons I am being taught right at the beginning of this year by God. It is both fascinating and hard to digest at the same time (hard because it calls for implicit obedience). I thought I’ll pen it down so I don’t lose this treasure as the year takes me through its own sinusoidal wave. Here goes… 

It began on 31st December around 11:47pm (What a coincidence!). My father in law also the Pastor of our church, announced the Promise for the year (Aside: For those of you who are new to this tradition of the church – The pastor/ priest picks one verse from the Bible and gives it as a direction for the entire year. It is always a “I(God) will do” statement that encourages the church when they go through a tough time or face challenges. This word is prayerfully picked after consulting with God and so God obliges himself to hold to his end of the contract throughout the year. Pretty cool, eh!)  

Back to the promise – “Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭126‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Imagine losing hope and this word rings in your heart “I will do great things for you this year, child”. It is more than a pick-me-up because the statement is not by a mere human but God who can actually change things for you. 

It is also my tradition to ask for a personal promise from God every year. This year I got a surprisingly strange promise – not the usual “I will do” statement but “You do this” statement. 

My personal promise – “Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10. 

It is almost like God telling me “If you are still, you will see me doing great things for you”. 

Be Still. Got me thinking. 

What does it mean to be still? Finney and I visited a zen garden last October in Japan. It is the best thing I’ve seen in life so far. It was almost like a picture from a greeting card come to life. You could see the stillness. Just being in that place, quietened even the busiest of souls (Well, not exactly every one. Guess who couldn’t do more than 2mins? My butter half – John Finney). People muted their voice and gave into the sheer beauty of the place. For one moment chaos seemed to disappear. I didn’t want to leave that place. 

Now here’s the strange lesson God is teaching me – being still is more than quieting yourself. Because you can be in the stillest of places, even keep your mouth closed and still not be still within.

Then what does it mean to be still? Being still is to let go of the control you very badly want to have over your life. I can tell you for sure, that it is easier to type that sentence than to live it.

The Israelites were getting ready to face their first battle into their promise land – the battle of Jericho. God gives them instructions to fight. Can you pause for a moment and think what training an army commander would give ideally? 100 pushups, 200 squats, hand to hand combat training (I’m assuming they didn’t discover even the prototype of a rifle back then) and a strict diet (Please excuse my ignorance if you are in the army. I’m sure my list does not even satisfy a newbie training criteria) Here is what God of angel armies said –

“You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six days. Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn. On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times, with the priests blowing the horns. When you hear the priests give one long blast on the rams’ horns, have all the people shout as loud as they can. Then the walls of the town will collapse, and the people can charge straight into the town.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭6‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Quietly march around Jericho without retaliating? The enemy on the wall would be hurling insults at you – non stop sledging for not 1, 2 or 3 days but 6 days straight – and you are not allowed to even raise your fist. If you are an army officer I’m sure you are shaking your head in complete disapproval by now. In other words Be still. But guess what! The Israelite army obeyed. They were still for 6 days and they saw their God in action on the seventh day. They must have exclaimed – The Lord has done great things for us! What joy!

Personally ever since I got this word, be still, I can see murphy’s law at play. It is like Wreck-it-Ralph has become my closest buddy. My life’s cookie is crumbling and every fibre of my being wants to roar. Fight back. Take control. Fix things. But that is not what I am told. Be still is all I hear. It is a sermon I’ve preached/ heard a zillion times yet when I am tested I am shaking like a leaf in the storm. 

The 2025 simulation (only 5/365 complete) God has put me through feels like a Kobiayashi Maru and I am bound to fail if… I tried it on my own. Here is what I am doing – falling face down asking for His grace to help me be still. The true peace that fills you when you stop being in control is the peace that surpasses all understanding that comes only from God. Thus, Be still – has become the hardest yet the most rewarding lesson I am being taught. My fingers are just beginning to let go of the tight hold I thought I had on many things.

Let me shout it again from the roof top for your sake and mine – 

BE STILL (Let go and let God) and you will find that He is GOD who does great things for you! 

P.s. I think my brain is now ready to sleep. Good night! 🙂