Be Still and Know God: Four Disciplines For Christians

"How busy we have become... and as a result how empty!" writes Charles R. Swindoll, in his little gem, Intimacy with the Almighty. "We have made ourselves very complicated."

In this small book of great truths for hurried and harried Christians, Swindoll expounds on four disciplines, based on four decisions, that can help us cultivate an in-depth relationship with the Almighty God.

The 4 disciplines:

1. Simplicity

2. Silence

3. Solitude

4. Surrender


The 4 decisions:

1. To reorder one's private world

2. To be still

3. To cultivate serenity

4 To trust the Lord completely

"Nothing under his control can ever be out of control," Swindoll writes. "When I keep my hands out of things, his will is accomplished, his name is exalted, and his glory is magnified."

As we finish another week of work, and begin another Sabbath of rest, a Sabbath that God wisely established at creation for all of us, let us celebrate his great glory and magnificent creative power. Let us, thoughtfully and joyfully, take the time, given us by God, to rest in him, so that he might truly work in us and through us.

I recommend spending an hour or two reading and heeding this little classic, as you also meditate on God's Word.

Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathens, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 (King James Version of the Bible)

Reference:

Charles R. Swindoll, Intimacy with the Almighty: Encountering Christ in the Secret Places of Your Life, Dallas, Texas: Word Puplishing, 1996, 80 pages, including 2 pages of endnotes.

Other pertinent books cited by Swindoll:

Bennett, Arthur, ed., The Valley of Vision, Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1975.

Edmon, V. Raymond, The Disciplines of Life, Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press, 1948.

Foster, Richard J., Celebration of Discipline, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978.

Kelly, Thomas, A Testament of Devotion, New York, Harper & Row Publishers, 1941.

Nouwen, Henri J. M., The Way of the Heart, New York: Seabury Press, 1981

Solzhenitsyn, Alexandr, The Gulag Archipelego, translated by Thomas P. Whitney, Harper & Row Publishers, 1973.

Tozer, A. W. (Aidan Wilson Tozer), The Divine Conquest, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania: Christian Publications, 1950.