Surrender doesn't mean giving up.
For the woman (like me) who resists "being still" but still wants peace
For years, I thought “be still” was God’s way of telling me to stop moving.
To quiet my wild nature.
To become passive or submissive.
To give up every crazy scheme and obsessive dream and compulsive desire to follow every one of them.
But recently, Psalm 46:10 caught me differently. It didn’t feel like a shush—it felt like an invitation. Here’s my response (in its original, free-flowing and unedited version…)
Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God.
Psalms 46:10
In this verse, the word “rapha,” translated as Be Still, simply means to let go, to loosen your grip, to surrender your striving, to rest in the reality that…
He is the God Who is safe.
Be Still does not mean “stop moving.”
It’s not the shushing sound of a frustrated mother’s whisper in church or a nurse to a scared, injured patient, or the road-weary parent pleading with the wild child in the back seat, “Would you just BE STILL?”
This is not at all the tone I hear—although maybe I have in the past believing God was frustrated with my constant movement and relentless activity!
Feeling as if my inner wild means I don’t know how to “be still….”
But, be still simply means: let go, release your hold, relax your grip—even IN your motion and activity and forward movement!
In other words, “Loosen your bone, Wilma!”
Be still is not a passive, inactive, lack of motion; but a way of being in rest, surrender, ease in my spirit, mind and body.
Take it easy, as the Eagles say, and keep this peaceful, easy feeling.
Be Still—be FREE—from striving, stress, shame, should’s and should-haves!
Which means…
I can move freely, safely, patiently.
Without worry or hurry.
Not avoiding or escaping or chasing.
Because it’s not survival; it’s revival.
Release each day and decision to Me in trust and be free from the second-guessing.
Don’t let the energy of second-guessing, regret and disappointment rob you of joy, block your gratitude and drain your energy!
Be grateful and free—and know that I am God!
Let go and let Me—and know that I am God!
Take it easy and breezy—and know that I am God!
Know this, you can release all the worry and anxiety you create—because I really am your Safe Space.
He is safe. trustworthy. trusting.
He already knows (more than me).
That’s why He is a Refuge and not someone to run from (or around) out of fear, shame or guilt.
He’s a Ready Refuge.
There is a stillness that is necessary; to allow, to accept, to receive, to restore.
Because often I do run to avoid and move to miss; feelings, realities, needs, weaknesses that I don’t want to face or admit. Too many to name or to ignore.
And yet, I want to stop hiding—in my constant motion AND in my full stop.
I want to release and process whatever it is I’m running from…
To be still—and know it’s safe.
To be still—and know it will be well.
To be still—and know I will be held and healed and helped (right where I need it most).
This is the stillness I desire—and the safe space we ALL need, isn’t it?
No matter what the circumstances in our lives.
It’s not a “time out” chair in the corner.
It’s a way of being that moves through surrender and ease, where things get to be easy, where we stop making it harder than it has to be, and stop expecting it to be harder than it has to be.
This is a huge step into freedom, flow, and BLISS.
What would it look like for you to take that step today? I’d love to hear your responses in the comments…
I believe in you,
Sue
For me, today, this would look like relinquishing the white-knuckle grip I have on my to-do list I admit I tend to idolize. Knowing I don’t *have* to be crazed in order to be productive, worthy, or responsible. Thank you for this!
This is spot on “It’s a way of being that moves through surrender and ease, where things get to be easy, where we stop making it harder than it has to be, and stop expecting it to be harder than it has to be.”