Be still, my soul, The Lord is on thy side
Bear patiently, the cross of grief or pain
Leave to thy God, to order and provide
In every change, He faithful will remain
Be still, my soul, thy best thy heavenly friend
Through thorny ways, leads to a joyful end.
— Katharina von Schlegel, b. 1697 (trans. by Jane Borthwick, 1813-1897)
But even in our preaching this truth to our souls, we must remember that it is our Father who stills us. It is our Father who says “Shhh…” to our unquiet minds and souls. It is our Father God who settles us.
Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10)
But don’t miss this: The settled-ness, the peace, the stillness, the quieting of our souls and minds—this is not the end.
The stillness of our souls is good, right and beautiful. Our heavenly Father gifts us with peace and stillness of mind and soul, sometimes even in the midst of breaking hell in our lives.
But that is not where Amy ended her prayer, and neither should we. What we should most desire is to echo with Amy the plea to God, to “think thy thoughts with thee.” May God help us to see the world as he sees it. To see the needs around us as he sees them. To see our sin as he sees it. To see the forgiveness he extends to us as he sees it. We need his help to see his sovereignty in the mundane, in the exhilarating, and in the challenges that cripple us.
When he hushes our quaking, when we breathe deeply of His grace and when we are still and know that He is God—that is when lasting change happens. He causes us to think his thoughts and allows us to know his truth. It is then that we can assuredly find ourselves, settled.
…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things…practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:9)
[1] Dohnavur Songs, item 99 (from Amy Carmichael: Beauty for Ashes, by Iain H. Murray)
This article originally appeared here.
