Stand Still

“When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.” (Joshua 3:8)

Journal,

One of the terms used to express the walk of early believers was simply ‘The Way.’ (Greek ‘o hodos.’) The term is rooted deeply in the prophetic writings. Because of its Messianic overtones it was taken up very early by the Jewish believers with regard to their walk with the Lord. (You find references to ‘the Way’ in Acts 9:2; 19:23; 24:22)

Note: Place your cursor over a Scripture reference and it will appear.

Jesus walked into our world to meet us, to take us by the hand, and to walk us into His world. This is where the footsteps of the Lord can be seen in the walking out of our Christian experience. This is the yoke experience that Jesus spoke of.

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt11:29)

Notice that Jesus says that we will “learn from” Him. This can mean no less than Jesus walking with us through our lifetime journey of faith. Note His final promise to the disciples;

“I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt28:20)

 

Death to the old meaningless life

The footsteps of Jesus carried Him to the cross. He was taken down and placed in an empty tomb. He walked out of the grave. He departed from the earth and ascended to His heavenly throne of glory.

And God made His footsteps into a way. The way is a way to live by trusting in the Lord, by knowing that He is continually guiding us through life. The new life we are given in Christ is a life full or meaning and purpose.

Listen to David as he shares a prophetic picture of our salvation in Jesus:

“Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth [Jesus] springs from the earth, and righteousness [Heavenly Father] looks down from heaven. Indeed, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. [The Father’s] Righteousness will go before Him [Jesus] and will make His footsteps into a way.” (Psa 85:9-13)

 

Jesus said,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

In God’s work of salvation we pass through the cross and in due course on to our final destination and placement in His heavenly and eternal kingdom. Every child of God has imprinted in his or her soul, ‘the Way.’ It is this imprint that keeps us longing for our final destination.

The heavenly imprint also carries in it the very presence of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of the Lord seals us, sanctifies us, delivers us, guides us, preserves us, and presents us in due course before the throne of God. We are the eternal children of the cross.

 

What does Standing Still really mean?

Standing still means there will be many times in our Christian walk when we are to do nothing of ourselves. Our instructions are to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. [Salvation includes the thoughts of preservation and deliverance.]

Standing still is something that we learn to do. Some believers do not realize that the work of salvation is God’s work from alpha to omega. No one is accidentally born into the kingdom of God. The apostle said he was convinced the good work that God began in us, He would perfect until the day of Jesus Christ. God alone is the author and the finisher of our faith. He alone is the perfecter of His work. (Cf. Phil 1:6)

Standing still means that the Father has a plan for our life. Standing still means to learn to listen to the Lord, receive your instructions from Him, and then follow through with obedience to His directives. Many times our instructions are simply to ‘Stand still!’

Here is a personal story –

It was 1974 – I had resigned from my former church affiliation. The following morning a cloud of darkness settled over me. I felt an aloneness that I was not accustomed to. What will I do? Where do I go? When I fell to my knees I reached for my Bible. My eyes instantly fell upon Php 1:6, where the apostle said,

“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

The ‘Sun of righteousness’ had risen over me. No more fear. No more uncertainty. I knew in my heart everything was alright. God had spoken. The cloud vanished. It was in a moment of ‘stillness’ that I received me instructions. (This is one of hundreds of times the Lord has granted me fresh instructions.)

The point is that some Christians see the strength of their walk in how strong their grip is on God. This is not what Jesus teaches us. The safety for a child of God does not depend on his or her grip on God. It rests entirely in the hands of the Lord. Jesus said,

“No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John10:27-29)

Here is another example from my own walk:

 

Expect the Unexpected

 

It was August 6, 2007. I had been in cancer treatment for awhile. The findings were not good. Lymphoma had spread throughout my chest area and was now into my bone marrow. Our local hospital could do no more for me. They were sending me to M. D. Anderson in Houston. Everything pointed to a marrow transplant. (Pretty invasive procedure.)

Everything was alright between me and the Lord. I had told the church that it was a win-win situation. The only concern I had involved which kind of bone marrow transplant would I have to go through.

Back to the story – That day I am having my morning devotion on a hill behind the church. While reading In the book of Isaiah, the Lord speaks to my heart and says, ‘Expect the unexpected.’

When I looked up at the high wire directly over my head there sat a beautiful dove. I sat there just looking at her. The dove would look at me. She remained there until I stood up to walk home. Then she flew ahead of me towards the house.

It has always amazed me how of the Lord will speak to my heart while I am reading the Scriptures. That morning I was taking my devotion from the New Living Translation. Here is the portion where the Lord spoke to me:

“Oh, that You would burst from the heavens and come down! How the mountains would quake in Your presence! As fire causes wood to burn and water to boil,

“Your coming would make the nations tremble. Then Your enemies would learn the reason for Your fame!

“When You came down long ago, You did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked!”(Isa 64:1-3 NLT)

I shared with the church what the Lord had said. I did not know what ‘expect the unexpected’ meant. I thought perhaps I would receive the less of the two invasive stem cell transplant procedures. After all that was the purpose of sending me to Houston.

At M. D. Anderson I was put through a battery of tests. They gave me a thorough work through. Betty and Nathan were with me.

Here is what happened. When we met with my primary physician, he went down the line on each test that M.D. Anderson had made. With each test he said, ‘No cancer.’ (Something along that line.)

At some point between Pineville, Louisiana, and Houston, Texas, the Lord had granted me a sovereign miracle of grace. It’s been three years now. Every checkup I’ve gone to since shows me clear of cancer.

And that is the story of my healing from the Lord

 

I don’t share these stories to gain attention for myself. I share them as a way of encouragement. What did I do to gain a healing from the Lord? I did nothing. All I did was receive my instructions from the Lord.

I wish that all believers would come to this understanding. God doesn’t heal us or give us miracles because we deserve them, or because we have earned them, or because we worked some spiritual law, or because we became good enough. It’s all a matter of God’s love and of His sovereign grace.

The love of God is a Divine outflow of His own heart. It flows from God to His children. God then wants His love to flow out from His children to those who are without Christ, and also to other struggling believers. So He gives us testimonies of His grace and of His love.

 

Paul gave some insight into this area, when he said,

“We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to [God’s] purpose who [always] works all things after the counsel of His will.” (Eph1:11)

Notice that Paul said that it is God’s will that is at work. The apostle John agrees. He said that our birth from heaven was not a thing of our will. He says,

“[We] were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:13)

 

Sure, standing still can be hard at times. And yet this is one of the greatest secrets to a life of faith. Standing still does not mean do nothing. It means to get your instructions from the Lord. Jesus said that everyone who asks, receives. Every one who knocks, the door will be opened. Every one who seeks, will find.

Think about it. I hope this entry has ministered to your heart. Please take time to listen to this wonderful song about ‘Standing Still.’

 

 

Much love to be found in Jesus,

Buddy

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