"Be still and know that I am God..."

I think it’s awe-inspiring to take moments in which we sit back and truly realize all the blessings God has graciously poured out upon our lives.  Daily we overlook the miracles God is performing, and see past the promises He speaks over our lives because we become numb to the extraordinary in search for the mundane.  We so greatly depend upon a physical or visual sign of God moving that we miss His soft whispers of encouragement, but in the stillness, unoccupied by any other distraction, we begin to see the majesty of Gods movements.  All of my life I have been told that our God is faithful and will never leave us or forsake us, and whole heartedly I agree with those truths, but in the midst of a consuming depression it is hard to see past the darkness of your life and see the light that we are promised in Christ.  While going through my depression my greatest struggle was the inability to feel loved and the startling “truth” that I was all alone in the world, and no one truly cared about me.  I would search any and every where for some type of love and hope, but I overlooked the truth of God’s word because naively I thought that everyone in the bible had everything all figured out and could not possibly be struggling with what I was currently going through over 2000 years later, but one day, my friend texted me with the scripture that dramatically changed my ignorant way of thinking.  She told me that she was reading Psalm 13 and she thought of me, and suggested I give it a read as well.  Surprisingly, I immediately searched for my bible and thumbed through the book I thought I would never be able to relate to, and finally, came to the passage that spoke of feelings of abandonment from God and separation from Him and His love.  In an odd way it was comforting to see that biblical people actually struggled with God, that they didn’t always feel His presence and that at times they felt defeated by the enemy.  I remember reading those words with tears streaming down my face because I precisely related with everything the psalmist was describing, but the most captivating part of that scripture was the last two verses, that I firmly believe motivated me to a life change. “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the LORD’s praise, for he has been good to me.”  I was reminded that no matter what God was never going to give up on me.  No matter how far I would try to run I realized I could never escape the overwhelming presence and love of God.  I truly believe I had to go through a dark and still time to have this unique revelation with Christ.  God moves and thrives in the quiet calmness, so be comforted in the times in which you feel as though you’re going through a spiritual desert because sometimes God uses those moments when we are still and quiet.  

In Him,
Liz Brantley