Day 1 - Be: Even when trials and fires come, decide who you are and remain true to that. The Hebrews refused to bow, even when face with the fiery furnace.
Day 2 – Still: You’re Still here. When you are tied and bound and there is nothing you can do about your situation, sometimes all you can do is be ‘still’ and look for God in the fire. He always comes.
Day 3- And: And they came out of the fire. And there was no smell of smoke upon them. What’s your ‘and’?
And now Day 4- Know:
I tend to divide my life into ‘before’ and ‘after’. As in: before Dave died and after Dave died. Do you feel that way? It was such a pivotal life changer that forever changed my perspective. In light of that, the word ‘know’ has two different life applications to me.
First, I can honestly say that after the tears and questions and impossible of the past 9 years are faced, I honestly know the Lord in a deeper way. I can even say that I don’t think I could have come to know Him as deeply without the ugly. His faithfulness has been tried and His word proved true over and over. I believe our Hebrew friends from Daniel Chapter 3 also experienced this.
Daniel 3:25 And the king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
When they were in danger of losing it all, God in the flesh appeared to them, revealing Himself in a more intimate way than He ever had before, walking through the fire with them!
The other application of know is that God somehow uses the impossible parts of our journey to reveal Himself to others. After Nebuchadnezzar saw the miracle in the furnace, four men walking freely where he had thrown in three men tightly bound, he was astonished.
Daniel 3:26 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Vs 28 – Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Through the trial that the Hebrews endured, a king who formerly wanted to be worshipped had a change of perspective. He then wanted to know their God, this God of miracles that they followed. What’s funny to me is that all of their righteous ways and words did not convert him. The trial that they endured showed him the truth about God.
Maybe sometimes the beauty of His promises is not our happily ever after, but simply that we trust Him and somehow through it all, someone else will come to trust Him too. And to KNOW Him as He has allowed us to know Him.
May we all dare to believe His words in Isaiah 61:
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.
Keep going , dear sisters. One day at a time, determine to know Him a little more and make Him known, just by being you and walking the journey He has set before you. You display His splendor more than you ever realize. I don’t think anyone has ever come to know the Lord when they are faced with someone else’s perfect. But when they see Him real in your circumstance, even shining through your tears, it is beautiful. Simply beautiful.
Be. Still. And. Know…that He is God. Psalm 46:10
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you for always reminding me THAT HE IS GOD.
Yesterday would have been my husband’s 50th birthday but he died four years ago just 19 days short of his 46th birthday. The last four years without him trying to raise my two teenage sons have been very difficult. I have spent many a tearful night on my knees praying for healing for my boys and our family. Our happy ending hasn’t come yet but gratefully the days are getting easier. I am learning more about the goodness and faithfulness of God than I had in all my years before. I am learning to thank Him and trust Him in all things and He is opening doors to allow me to reach out to others that before would never listen. God has humbled me, provided for me and shown me so much and for that I am grateful. Thank you so much for your faithfulness to share what God has taught you. It is such a blessing to me!
Thank you so much for all four days of deep insight into those words.i have been thoroughly blessed and encouraged. I believe I’ll come back to these teachings again again to draw strenght and deep insight. The Lord bless you for sharing. It gives hope.
Janet – yes, it all does come down to that most days, doesn’t it? And sometimes if we can resettle that in our head, it changes perspective on the day. I pray your day is blessed with that knowledge tucked into your heart!
Oh Fran- my heart breaks alongside of yours! I have often talked with my daughters about the challenges of raising boys alone (we are a ‘pink’ girly family!) So many of you are doing an amazing job raising these puzzling/crazy/testosterone filled men-to-be! I know our Lord is proud of you, Fran
As you continue that time on your knees I pray God give you His supernatural wisdom in every decision and every conversation. You are called and equipped for this journey! hugs – Danita
I wanted to say thanks for your great insight into those 4 words. Its been a great source of encouragement. I am trying to make these words become my first response to anything. I think these 4 words for me are whispers that lead to freedom.
this is beautiful. my husband has just passed on 30Sep12. we have been married four 16yrs total of 19yrs together. His pasing has left me with a big void in my heart, its hard to praise and press through, beacuse of the pain. my heart breaks everytime our daughter 4yrs cries for her daddy and our little son 3yrs. but I know God will comfort them, as well as me…but God knows my heart, He knows that He is my eternal hope” I just pray that He guides me& my kids on this new journey….blessings -Louisa
Halima and Jill B – I agree ! We need to be intentional about it, don’t we. Being Still and Knowing is not always my first response
Jill – I like your words ‘whispers to freedom”. Love and hugs – Danita
Thanks for your encouraging words. I hope your week is a good one. Hugs to you! Love – Jill
Danita,
I am sorry about your Mother-In-Law! How wonderful that you thought so very much of her. I so wish I had that with mine.
I enjoyed your four day post. I have that verse on the mouse pad for my computer.
If I may be so honest to say that I find no comfort in thinking that what we go thru may bring others to God or that He gets Glory from it. I so want to love God enough that that is important to me. It registers to me as God saying” I am going to allow this in your life because I can use it for my good” Now I get that He is God and all and He should get to use whatever it is He wants.I just don’t know how to embrace that as Him loving me so therefore I am very “stuck” when it comes to being able to embrace the concepts that are shared. You see I never stopped believing by faith that my Bob was going to be healed. For 15 years I clung to that and I feel like my faith was meaningless to God.
So while I know that God is the only way through this grief, I am on shaky ground with Him if that makes any sense at all!!! Thanks I just needed to be honest about where I am at.
I like this part: “all of their righteous ways and words did not convert him. The trial that they endured showed him the truth about God.” I was just praying for you, Betty. We don’t need to think we are being “used.” We are privileged that the Lord knew we would shine as a light. Our faith needs to not be in “I know you can give me what I want.” Our faith needs to be in “I know you always do what is best, for me and for all the many people that I will cross paths with.” God is worthy of the highest glory and we should be excited to be a part of that praise and peaceful trust. We love God because he first loved us. We know He loves us because He opened our eyes to both our sin and the way to have our sins removed. He has been willing to forgive us of ALL our sins. Perhaps your faith was partially meaningless; the part that you wanted what you wanted, not what God wanted. I, too, struggled with facing the fact that I wanted a MAN to love me, not just God. Not just Jesus for a husband. I wanted someone to hug and kiss. Well, I will have to wait and see if God has decided that is best for me. Think of what Bob would say to you: you can’t change what happened and God is worthy of loving and praising and glorifying. If Bob was saved, he would say, “Meet me there!” “Glorify God in my absence!” “Make my death count by showing how God can satisfy your aches.” I often wonder if I love God. But I look at how I live my life and I know I do. All that is missing is an emotional feeling toward Him. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (Jn. 14:27) As I wrote this, I realized I need to quit being troubled that maybe I don’t love God! That is just another fear from the devil, that will keep you and me from enjoying our relationship with the King of the Universe who loves us and is continually blessing us with His forgiveness, guidance, and provision.