September 01,2025

BE STILL

Exodus 14:14
 “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The topic for this sermon is ‘‘BE STILL’’ May God strengthen us to do the things that are recorded in the Scripture. I would like to give a difference for this word “Be still.” The Tamil verse, in literal English translation, means be idle, but the English verse says, be still. God is speaking about the experience where we remain still and receive the blessing from the Lord. We are going to remain still and witness the work that the Lord does in our life for this month.

There is a difference between remaining silent and being still. Many are being silent because they have nothing else to do, but being still means that we can do many things, yet we remain silent and protect our peace as the Lord is working for us. It is an experience of surrendering ourselves to God and telling Him: “Lord, You work on my behalf while I remain silent.”

I would like to quote an example. My grandfather worked in the military for 32 years. After working all these years in the military, will he be quiet or silent? It’s hard to make him sit in one place after his retirement. Even in the last few months of his life, he took up his cycle to go anywhere. When we visited their hometown, he was taking very good care of their garden and also took good care of his grandchildren as well. When my mother tried to tell him to take rest, he wouldn’t, and he always helped or did something. Even when he couldn’t walk, he asked for newspapers so that he could read them. He was always active.

Even in our spiritual life, we struggle to remain silent. We do something else when there is a delay in our prayers. When things don’t happen in our timing or instantly from our God, we look out for other alternatives. God reminds us that He would like to lead us in different phases of spirituality. That is not the experience of doing unlimited things, but it’s an experience of remaining still and witnessing God’s work for us. God is speaking that we should not work a lot this month. We are going to remain still and witness His work in our life. These are the days when we remain still in the presence of the Lord and ask the Lord to fight for us.

There are two sections in this verse: one is the section of God’s work, and the other is the section of ours. We mainly focus on God’s part of fighting the battles for us, but we miss our part of being still. We as humans believe that helping another man do a particular work will create wonders, but in the kingdom of God it’s different. There is no need to help Him but to be still and witness the work that is done for us.

In the ability of conversation, many people believe that when we are loud, when we shout, or when we use many words, it is the most powerful communication skill. But very skilled speakers know that being loud is not a good thing, and even when we remain silent it is also powerful. To emphasize certain things, we can use silence as it adds value to it.

Matthew 5:5
 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

A huge part of being meek is having the power of restraint over our words and attitudes. The experience of being meek is that we restrain ourselves from using certain words when we can use them, and being controlled by the fruit of the Spirit with the willingness to do God’s will.

God gave the Israelites this promise when they were surrounded by enemies on both sides. There was the Red Sea ahead of them and behind them was the army of Pharaoh. Just as God promised, He fought for them and brought them victory while the Israelites remained still.

Let us meditate on how we are going to remain still and inherit certain things in our lives:

 

1. KNOW THAT HE IS GOD

Psalms 46:10
 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
 I will be exalted among the nations,
 I will be exalted in the earth.”

Even in this verse, we see the psalmist using the same word “Be still.” When we remain still, we will know that He is God. When we remain still, we don’t get the revelation of how powerful we are, but we get the revelation of how powerful and great our God is. We know that our God is great when we remain still. When we keep fighting battles, we see our own efforts.

At times, we might also feel frustrated because we think that we keep on putting effort into things but God is not doing anything for us. Even some mothers will say that nobody in the house is helping her with the chores. But when the child offers to help the mother, she will refuse it, saying: “You will not do it properly.” Then she will again start to complain about nobody helping her. Many times, we do the same with our God: “Father God, I’ll do my battle and I’ll protect my name.” And God is waiting to let us do those things, but then we complain that God is not doing anything for us. Our God is a God who isn’t here to compete with us, but He is here in our life as King to lead us.

In my childhood, we used to attend conferences, and there they would ask me to play the keyboard. As I was in my learning phase, if any experts came, I would ask them to play on behalf of me as they would play it properly. Our Lord is the God who is an expert in fighting the battles. He is powerful in battles. We understand who our God is when we remain still. We may not have proper revelation of how God is working in our lives. But if we have life in us and we are breathing, it means God is working in our lives.

Psalms 46 talks about God being our refuge and also the conqueror of nations.

Psalms 46:8-9
 Come and see what the Lord has done,
 the desolations he has brought on the earth.
 He makes wars cease
 to the ends of the earth.
 He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
 he burns the shields with fire.

Psalms 46 speaks about the powerful hand of God, where He breaks the bow, cuts the spear in two, and burns the chariot in fire. After saying all these, the psalmist says: “Be still, and know that I am God.” Our God is capable of doing magnificent things, that is the reason the psalmist is saying: “Be still and know that the Lord is God.”

Bible scholars say the word “be still” has a different meaning in this context. This not only indicates things without our action but it indicates the experience where we completely surrender all our weapons into the hands of God, knowing only He can bring us victory.

When we know God, two things will happen in our lives:

1 John 4:7-8
 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

When we have the experience of knowing God in our lives, firstly we begin to love God.

I. We begin to love God

The people who begin to love the Lord will also begin to love His words. Whether we have desire or not, we need to read His words. The more we read the Word of God, the more our love towards the Word of God increases. A pastor once said: “Reading the Bible starts with discipline and ends with desire.” The days to come, we will remain still and know our God more, and in those days we will start to love Him more.

Psalms 9:10
 Those who know your name trust in you,
 for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

When we know the Lord, we begin to trust the Lord.

II. We begin to trust the Lord

We need to know our God deeper to put our trust in Him. Which person would you trust the most, the one known to you for one year or the one you’ve known for 30 years? For genuine people, the more you know about them, the more you invest your trust in them. You will have the hope that they will finish things properly. If you want to remain still when God is battling, begin the journey of knowing the Lord.

 

2. WITNESS A MIRACLE

Mark 4:39
 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

I’ve kept reading the three gospels where the word “Peace, be still” is recorded, and we are going to meditate upon that. In the earlier point, the Lord spoke with us saying: “You remain still, and I’ll do things for you.” Over here in this gospel, God commands the wind and the sea to be still. Our Lord is able to calm our situations. Many situations rise against us, but when we remain still, God is able to calm that situation for us.

Matthew 8:26
 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

Firstly, Jesus spoke to His disciples before rebuking the wind and the sea, saying: “Peace, be still.” This is what God spoke to me: before calming certain situations, it is necessary for our God to calm us first. It relates to our promise verse: we need to remain still when God is doing things for us. A pastor once jokingly said: “It was an easy task for Jesus to calm the wind and the sea, than to calm His disciples, as they were asking questions.” You cannot expect God to calm every situation around you when you are not remaining still.

This is the word God is speaking to many as a prophecy: Your miracle is waiting on the other side of your stillness. Miracle isn’t on the other side of your work, but it’s on the other side of your stillness.

Mark 4:38
 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” This is how the disciples awoke Jesus. They didn’t even include Jesus there. They forgot that the One who was with them is the One who created heaven and earth.

We once discussed certain things with two businessmen. It was one business but two owners came, and we were discussing how certain things had to be done. One of them kept talking, and we also thought that he was the real owner. But at the end of our discussion, when it was time to take a decision, that person became silent and looked at the other one to take the final decision. That’s when we realized the person who was silent was the real owner and decision maker. Only when the person stopped conversing did we know the real owner. When we choose to remain silent, that is when we’ll know the power of our God.

The disciples lacked stillness in their life, so they did not know the power of God. After Jesus rebuked them, only then did they witness the power and authority of God. Only in the end did the disciples marvel at the great power of God. Even in our life, when we remain silent, we will witness the glory of God.

 

3. SALVATION OF THE LORD

Exodus 14:13
 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.”

We are going to remain still and witness the salvation of the Lord. Our God not only saves our soul, but He also saves us from all kinds of danger, saves us from pits, and protects us from all the conspiracies of the enemy. When we remain still, we obtain all these things. Moses said to his people: “Don’t be afraid. Stand still.” People, when they are afraid, will shout aloud.

My mother-in-law was also someone who shouts when she was afraid. One day, they went for a house visit and came back home late at night. People there usually wouldn’t go out at night as it’s dangerous. They parked their car and my mother-in-law came out, and before her there was a leopard standing. She testifies that God gave her the strength to remain silent after seeing the leopard in front of her. The leopard’s face was so big, but she was silent as God helped her remain calm, and the leopard walked off.

When situations turn out to be fearful, we are going to remain silent and witness the salvation of God in us. Many people say that this is the hope Moses had. Moses did not know what the Lord would do for him, but he knew the result of it, that he was going to witness God’s salvation. Before Moses, there was the Red Sea, and behind them was the host of Pharaoh’s army. He didn’t know how God was going to work, but Moses knew that he would remain silent and witness the salvation that the Lord was going to bring in this situation.

This month I would like to encourage all of you: you do not know how things will turn out this month. Many obstacles may surround you, but you and I know the ending of those things that we will witness the salvation of God. Though Moses and the Israelites were surrounded with a lot of threats, since they had the experience of remaining still, they witnessed the salvation of God.

The solution given by all believers to tackle the situation is being still. It’s true that sorrow will discourage us. During problematic situations, when we have the experience of stillness, we’ll see the Lord’s salvation.

The salvation that God gave to the Israelites is this: “The Egyptians you see today, you will see again no more forever.” God fulfilled their eternal promise that they would not see the Egyptians anymore. Today, this is what God is giving you as a promise: days are coming when you will remain still and witness the salvation of God. Amidst fear, we need to learn how to remain still and trust in the Lord. Only then, like the Israelites, we’ll see the salvation of the Lord. We are the people who know the result of the situation we are in, and the result is the salvation of God.

 

                                                                                                                    Pastor Benny Visuvasam

 

                                                                                                                         Faith ACA Pallavaram

 

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