Cease Striving

Cease striving and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

 I will be exhaulted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10 NASB

I love this translation of Psalm 46:10!  Most of us are familiar with "Be still and know that I am God"  Many may have it posted on a wall in your home, like me, you may have it on a bracelet, or maybe a t-shirt.  It is a popular saying and something that has gotten me through a lot of worry and difficult situations in my life.  It's the topic of many books and devotions, but when I came across this NASB translation, it gave new life to this this timeless scripture.

We all know that cease means to bring or come to an end.  Simply put, cease means to stop something.  Striving means to make great efforts to obtain or achieve something.  It can also mean to struggle or fight vigorously.  When we put these two words together we are told to stop making efforts to achieve our goals or to stop fighting so hard to get our way.  God is telling us to just stop what your doing and trust Me.........let Me fight for you........cease your struggling and let Me take care of your problems.  

Friends, we can take a break.  We don't need to work so hard!  God has our back and He has an ultimate master plan to help our problem child, heal our illness, talk to our spouse, find us someone to love forever, and so much more.  We don't have to put all our energy into manipulating situations to get the results we think we need.  God knows what we need and so we can rest and trust that He has everything under control.  Cease Striving and know that God is on your side, fighting for you.  

Dear God, You are my God I praise You and lift You up in honor and glory.  You are my strength and my song and I will sing about You because You are good to me!  Thank You for giving me this break!  You are my army, You are my answer to prayer!  Fight for me while I sit back and cease striving so much.  Let me rest in Your arms while You work things out in my favor.    Amen