Be Still and Know Daily Bible Devotion

Psalm 39:4-5 Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath. I will never forget the moment. I was 17 years old and a friend of mine asked me: “Have you heard about Luke?” I hadn’t. Luke was always full of life, had very long hair (as most of us did at the time) and a cheeky smile. My friend said: “He died last week in a car crash together with three friends. Their Mini hit a fuel tanker and burst into flames.” I was completely and utterly devastated. It made no sense. I couldn’t believe that he was dead. As I struggled to come to terms with Luke’s untimely death, I learnt many things. Most of all I learnt that life, which seemed so permanent, was anything but. As tragic as this moment was, it taught me to look at every single day as a miraculous gift from God. I came to realise that every day needs to be handled with the greatest possible care. In this psalm David reflects on the fleeting nature of life, something of which he was regularly reminded as he lurched from one bloody military campaign to another. In the flyleaf of John Wesley’s bible, two words were written: “Live today”. That might sound obvious enough but it’s a great challenge. God has forgiven us our sins so that we don’t need to drag yesterday’s failures and regrets into today. The future is in God’s hands, so we don’t need to waste energy on worrying about it. God has released us to enjoy the day in front of us without any distractions. Question – Are you willing to receive today as a gift from God’s hands? Prayer – Thank you Lord for the privilege of being alive today. Help me to use this day to your glory. Amen

Psalm 38:4-9 My guilt overwhelms me—it is a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken. I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart. You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh. In this Psalm, David is incredibly honest. He tells us exactly how things are in his life, and it’s not going well! He feels guilty, he’s in pain and he is emotionally crushed. You can hardly imagine anything worse. But in the middle of it all, he knows that God hears him. I love the expression that David uses when he writes: “you hear my every sigh”. God doesn’t merely know when we are going through a hard time, but he picks up every detail of our distress. He is our creator, and he knows us better than we know ourselves. When we pray, he is well ahead of us in understanding what is wrong and why we are struggling. In prayer, we are informing God of nothing that he doesn’t already know. Despite this, it is still vital for us to open our hearts to God. When we approach him with complete honesty, we welcome him into our situation and invite his comfort, healing and restoration. Every single human being has times of difficulty and distress in their lives. There is nothing remarkable about that. But we must not hug our problems to ourselves. We need to come to God and be completely honest. It’s also important for us to be open with other Christians. That’s why we need to belong to a church and have those with whom we can be transparent. It wouldn’t be helpful to share our inner struggles everyone, but we do need at least one person with whom we can share the whole story – however awful and tangled it might be. Question – With whom are you able to be completely honest? Prayer – Thank you Lord that you love me so much that it is possible for me to be completely honest with you. Amen

Luke 2:29-32 Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel! Eight days after Jesus’ birth, his parents took him to the temple for his circumcision. There is no suggestion that the people of Jerusalem understood the significance of this moment. All the people at the temple saw was a young couple presenting their baby in the way that people did every day. But two elderly people did understand what was going on. Simeon and Anna had been longing for this day - and it had finally come! These verses form what is known as the Nunc Dimittis, Simeon’s famous prayer of thanks for this miraculous moment. He had been looking forward to this day for so long that he could now die in peace. As a Jew, he recognised that this was a glorious moment for the people of Israel. But it was much, much more. Simeon also recognised that the Messiah had come not merely for the Jews, but for the whole world. Simeon and Anna understood what was going on because they were people of prayer. They had devoted their lives to waiting on God. Anna was 84 and had been a widow for most of her life. We are told that she was a prophetess and never left the temple, instead worshipping God night and day, fasting and praying. The deep understanding and insight of these two people arose from lives that were shaped by prayer. They knew God so well that they were able to understand what he was doing in the world. Time and again in these daily devotionals we have been reminded of the importance of prayer as a way of life. Simeon and Anna are a supreme illustration of this and an inspiration to us as we live for God day by day. Question – What have you learnt from the example of Simeon and Anna? Prayer – Lord, thank you that you want me to live in continual partnership with you in prayer. By your Spirit inspire me with the example of Simeon and Anna and help me to share more of my life with you. Amen

Luke 2:19 Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. This sentence is what I would call a piece of considerable understatement! Mary had just given birth to the Messiah. She certainly had plenty to think about! Older versions of the Bible translate this verse as: “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart” (NIV). What had happened to Mary was a turning point in human history and stands at the centre of God’s loving plan for his world. No one, however old or mature, could possibly have taken it all in or claimed to have fully understood what had happened. Two thousand years later, theologians are still reflecting deeply on it. There is much that we do understand about our world, but still much that is beyond us. When we see the wonders of creation, we can attempt to describe what we see but we may never completely capture its beauty and intricacy. When we see the way in which God works in our lives, there is much that makes sense but always some things that puzzle us, and which leave us with questions. Like Mary, it is good for us to keep pondering. To do that, we need to allow ourselves space to reflect. It’s so easy to get sucked into a life of relentless activity. I believe God wants us to give ourselves the space to reflect deeply. In some Church traditions, the idea of retreat is very important. This is a time away from home where we can stand back from life and give unhurried time to listen to God. In a world that encourages us to race through our lives at a breathless pace, we need to learn from Mary’s example and ponder. Question – Where are you able to find space to listen to God? Prayer – Loving Lord, help me to listen more carefully to your voice. Amen