Mike Novotny - Anxious? Be Still
In a world where we worry, where we find it hard to sit still, where we panic about our medical results, or our kids and their choices, about our president, our nation, a thousand different things. God says to us, "Hey. Be still". Wow! We are here! Jesus was here, not around here. But here. Earlier this year, I got to explore Israel. I'm sitting, literally, in the place where Jesus' feet touched. I saw some amazing places. The old city of Jerusalem. In the Garden of Gethsemane. Beautiful Nazareth. At the Mount of Beatitudes. Capernaum, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And I can't wait to share these video devotions with you.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible comes from Psalm 46. And it's a powerful passage that connects to this beautiful place, the city of Jerusalem. Let me tell you the passage. Psalm 46, verse 10 says, In a world where we worry, where we find it hard to sit still, where we panic about our medical results or our kids and their choices, about our president, our nation, a thousand different things, God says to us, "Hey. Be still. Don't forget that I am God".
And as I stand here in Jerusalem, I realize why he says that. Behind me you see the massive city walls of the old city of Jerusalem. Walls that just tower above you, they almost seem impenetrable. And God describes himself like that, but actually even better, stronger, more reliable than that. That's why Psalm 46 starts this way. God is like a city, a safe city, a beautiful city, a city even better than Jerusalem. And God says once you get inside that city and you remember that he is God, the rivers of his love and compassion flow right to you. You don't have to work for them. It's just his gift to you. Then you can be still. Because you know that God is with us, he will protect us, our salvation is secure because of him.
So, like many of the groups around me, the tourists playing guitar, singing songs, they celebrate because they're in this city. Imagine how we can celebrate as Christians, that we get to live in the city of God. Let's celebrate his love today. That Jesus flung open the gates so that we could get in and let's take a deep breath and let our fears go. Remember, be still and know that he is God. That's another message we learn here in the glorious city of Jerusalem.