Be Still

      There are many verses in the Bible that have an effect on people, and they effect people in different ways depending on what their experiences are and what they may be experiencing at the moment they are reading that particular verse. I believe there are two reasons for that, one is that person's emotional or mental state at the time, and the other is what God is trying to communicate to you about your circumstances via the Holy Spirit.
       One verse that stirs my spirit in every circumstance is Psalm 46:10; which reads this way in the King James 'Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.'  Another translation of this verse reads (from the NASB): "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." I find this to be comfort at times, and other times I find it to be a reminder of how big God is. I love that this verse pretty much says 'why are you struggling? Why are you fighting my plans for you? Just relax, I am of high moral and intellectual value; elevated in nature and style above all the earth.'
      When I read that verse and think about what it means I am often blown away by it, God is so big, so powerful, and He is telling me to just relax because He is handling it. There are so many verses in the Bible that remind of us of this thing, that remind us to trust Him. It's not easy as humans for us to give up our worries, stress, fear or whatever else is burdening us, especially when there isn't a clear resolution to the problem. But that's exactly what God tells us to do, and when we do it we are blessed by His peace and reassured by the promises found in His holy word, the Bible.
        How do we do this though?  How do we give away our burdens and accept His peace? I won't promise that this will work for everyone, but this is what I do and what works for me. First, I pray about it, sometimes out loud and other times in my prayer journal. I find praying in this manner to be more helpful than praying silently in my mind because it feels like, as I say it out loud or write it on the page that I am releasing it, that the process of hearing or seeing it some how helps me to really just say 'yea, I am done with this, you take it God.' The second thing I do is actually part of that same prayer, before I stop praying I always thank the Father for hearing me, for comforting me, and for taking away the worry, whether I feel it at the time or not. The last thing I do is remind myself that I gave it up to God, any time the thoughts of worry or impatience or whatever else it may be returns to my mind I quickly respond to that thought with 'this is in God's hands now, and I am not going to worry anymore because God is bigger than anything I am dealing with,'  and I usually follow that up with a verse or two to help build my confidence.
      I wanted to share this verse (Psalm 46:10), and share my steps to letting go today because it was something I used to struggle with, something that I had to figure out on my own, and recently someone asked me to explain to them how to let go, how to give it over to God. I hope this helped them and was a blessing to anyone else who may be struggling with this as well.

Psalm 100:3
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Jeremiah 10:10
10 But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth quakes, And the nations cannot endure His indignation. 
 Psalm 119:41
May your unfailing love come to me, LORD, your salvation, according to your promise;