Snow

Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10

Rejoice in the Lord, always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Phillipians 4:4,5

    I've heard people saying for weeks now that they wanted snow.  There is a beautiful snow falling as I am writing this.  It is gentle, with big flakes.  When I got up this morning, I sat with a cup of coffee by our front window and watched it for a bit.   Then the phrase, Be still and know that I am God, came to mind.  Everything seems to slow down when it snows.  I like that.

    The Hebrew word for stillness that is used often has a negative connotation.  It is a word for weakness. . . lowering the hands and giving up.  The point is that once we have spun our wheels to the point of exasperation, and we finally give up control to God, we can sit back and watch Him act.  Then we will see what God's goals are.  We will understand that our purposes are not, necessarily, His purposes.  We don't like waiting; but, the Bible is full of examples of times when God forced His people to wait before He acted.

     Then, I thought about children.  They want snow for a different reason.  They want to play.  Children and snow bring to mind the making of snowmen and snowball fights and sledding down hills.  Children are active in snow.  And they are joyful.  The Lord is Near.

     So, when we finally give up and wait, we can see God at work.  Then we can join Him in His work and that is when we rejoice in Him, and know that He is near.

     Just as the snow gently slows us down, so does God force us into times of waiting.  But, when His timing is right, He makes it clear that it is time for action and it is clear that He is near.