Taste and See

Be still and know that I am God. Be still, stop the running around, to and fro. Be still, stop letting your anxieties and your fears control you and drive you into making rash decisions. Be still, you wield much power when you are at peace! Be still.
Stop believing the lie that you're only productive and of value if you're constantly on the move fulfilling all the obligations demanded of you.
Be still for a moment and let God remind you who is really in charge. It ain't you and it ain't me!
Be still, take a minute.
Breathe.
When you are still, so much comes to you. You don't have to be running around like a crazy person searching for answers. Be still and allow the answers to come to you.
Be still and know that I am God- Psalm 46:10.
Why this scripture? Well, I think that we sometimes forget who we are and whose we are. We take it upon ourselves to run things according to our point of view. But do we ever stop to ask God what we should do?
Oh, yes, I forgot that many times we don't ask because we don't really want to hear the answer God might give.
The book of Exodus tells the story of the children of Israel and their journey from Egypt to Canaan, their promised land. It is an incredible story of God's amazing leading of them out of bondage into freedom through Moses. Although they were excited about escaping slavery at the hand of Pharoah, they weren't quite prepared for God being at the center of their very survival. Many times they spoke angrily of wanting to go back to Egypt instead of living day to day in the wilderness dependent on God to care for them. Suddenly Egypt looked better to them than their new life with God running the show. At least when they were slaves back in Egypt, they understood how things worked. They knew their boundaries and they knew very well what each day would bring. Nothing new, nothing exciting, no changes, just more back breaking, soul destroying labor! Interesting!
I enjoy reading this story because in it I see myself and how I sometimes prefer a life of security and familiarity and even mediocrity in place of a new life with God directing my steps. After all, who knows what God might do in my life if I actually let go of the reins?
True, the Israelites were not at all familiar with this God that Moses adored,worshiped,followed and obeyed. Egypt was a place where many gods were worshiped. It must have been mind boggling for the Israelites to hear this God speak to them and perform various signs and wonders before their eyes. They probably wondered could this God be trusted? This was no easy transition. This was more of a mental change than the change in their physical surroundings. And so it is with us. A large part of the change God is trying to bring about in our lives has to begin with our minds and our deeply entrenched beliefs about ourselves, our lives and God.
But God revealed Himself to them over and over again, constantly providing their needs, speaking to them and showing them what a life of trust looked like and what true freedom felt like.
But, sadly, they were more comfortable with their past experience, namely slavery and its many cruelties. Imagine that!
Fast forward many years to the times of Jesus Christ and again you read about those who preferred slavery to freedom. Wow!
Are we any different today? Much God talk abounds in our culture but how many have really tasted and seen that the Lord is good? We love to talk about the promised land but few actually enter therein.