raphah

"Be still, and know that I am God." The Bible in Basic English re-words it a bit: "Be at peace in the knowledge that I am God."

This is part of it, yes; being at peace. And yet,so many of us seek peace, long for peace, and yet feel as if it eludes us, over and over again. What does that "peace," that "being still" consist of? How is it found?

The Hebrew word used for "be still" is “raphah” - "to slacken, abate, cease, consume, draw, fail, faint, be (wax) feeble, forsake, idle, leave, let alone..."

How often do I, as a busy college student, truly raphah? How often do I allow my busy-ness to slacken, abate, and cease? Do I let my love for Christ consume me and draw me to His presence? Am I willing to fail, to faint, to be feeble - to admit that my strength is not sufficient; and that I must refresh myself in and draw strength from my Redeemer? And, as I do that, do I take the steps to receive that refreshing - do I forsake my "to-do" list, leave it completely behind me, and seek the face of God as I am still before Him?

"Be still.”

“Raphah.”

“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matt. 11:28-29)

It's not easy, in today's world, to be still. On Labor Day this year, I committed to spending that "free day" with God; and yet, as I drove to my church to spend the day alone, I was mentally composing a list of everything I needed to do that week – the laundry that needed washing, my room that needed cleaning, the voice practice I needed to do before my lesson on Wednesday, the APA assignment due on Thursday, the ball game I wanted to go to the next night, the friend I wanted to spend time with before she left for several months... and then, suddenly, I realized my error.

"What are you doing, My child? Today is supposed to be devoted to Me, to spending time with Me -- not to worrying and carrying on like you usually do. Don't you think that I will bless that -- that if you spend time with Me, you can trust Me to help you with all those little details?"

And yet, even still, it was a struggle all day long. I couldn't seem to make myself "be still." I wasn't used to the idea of leaving everything behind and focusing completely on Him.

But how do we expect to be able to have a relationship with Him if we do not raphah? Jesus, over and over again, went off by Himself to be alone, to pray, to spend time with His Father. Do we think that we are stronger than He?

And when we pray, how do we pray? Are we simply praying for the prayer request list at church, or perhaps the prayers we’ve heard a thousand times – “Father, thank You for this day and this food; bless us and our family; amen” ?

Or do we raphah in our prayers? Do we “be still,” and “rest in the knowledge that He is God” ?

When we draw away, and spend time with God, we need to go to Him on our knees; to go in our weakness; to admit that we are faint and failing; we are parched, longing for water; we are feeble, without strength of our own; we need Him.

If we go to Him in our vulnerability, admitting our need, crying out to Him for help, for restoration and refreshing, He will answer our prayer. But we must go in that vulnerability, with a willingness to look at the painful places of our lives, the scarred and battered places in our hearts; a willingness to admit our need for healing. “They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.” (Matt. 9:12) If we protest that we are whole; if we try to “have it all together”; then we have no need for Christ. We cannot raphah without vulnerability and weakness.
But we cannot live as Christians without learning to raphah. It is essential for us to learn how to come to our God in brokenness and vulnerability, to come to Him just as we are – not as we want to appear – because that is the only way for us to be healed, the only way for us to be made whole again.

Too many of us are trying to live for Christ – rushing from this activity to that project, from this ministry opportunity to that church function – without first learning how to live in Christ. It’s like attempting to quench the thirst of an entire village, with only our own thermos of water. We give a drop here and a drop there, but after a bit, we run out of water. And yet we continue rushing from person to person, trying to pour more water out of the empty thermos, seemingly oblivious to the fact that there is no water left to give.

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” (Isaiah 55:1-3)

Before we try to give and give “until there’s nothing left, until it all runs out” (Relient K), we must learn how to live so that there will never be “nothing left.”

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14) The water that Christ offers is not just an igloo full of stagnant water to periodically refill our thermoses from. It’s a well of living water – an inexhaustible supply, springing forth to give us abundant refreshment.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

And then comes the next phrase – “I will be exalted above the heathen; I will be exalted in the earth.” (Ps. 46:10b)

“As you rest in Me, as you admit your insufficiency and tap into My living water, then I can use you as a channel for my streams of life to flow through. Then, and only then, can you truly bless others and minister to them as I intended you to.”

“Be still – raphah. Be weak. Be vulnerable. Be open to My healing; allow Me to touch those inner, most painful parts of your spirit. Come to me, leaving all else behind you, and simply rest in me. Rest in the knowledge that I am God – that My power and My grace in you is way more than sufficient, more than able, to heal those broken pieces, and to make you whole again. The life I want to give you is more powerful than you can imagine. I want to be within you a well of life-giving water. And as you abide in the life I give you, My power will be seen by those around you. The villages that are parched and dying of thirst will stand in stark contrast to you, continually drinking from a well of fresh water. You will be a testimony to Me, you will have My eternal life to offer to others, my Name will be glorified and lifted up…
when first, you simply learn to raphah.”