This past week we had a delightful visitor to our back yard one evening. It was a baby bunny. Nancy and I have some fun memories of baby bunnies from years back…but that’s a story for another day. You can ask Nancy about nursing some baby bunnies back to health! 😊 Anyway, we had this cute little baby bunny hanging out in our yard. Pictures were taken and then we left it alone. Later that night I checked, and the bunny was nowhere to be seen, so I hoped it had found it’s way back to its nest, or wherever it needed to go.
The next morning, I checked around in the back yard just to see if the bunny was around, but I couldn’t see it. Then, by chance I decided to look down our window wells just to make sure it hadn’t fallen into one. Sure enough, there was the bunny, huddled in the corner.
The window wells are deep enough that the bunny wasn’t going to be able to hop out, so the only other option was for me to hop into the window well and rescue the bunny. I climbed in and of course my large presence in the confined space of the window well must have been rather frightening for the bunny because it started scampering around the window well. It was little but it sure was quick because as I reached out to catch it, it would scurry to another spot, escaping my grasp. Time and time again, I’d reach for it only to be denied the rescue I was wanting to offer. When I simply stood still and didn’t move, the bunny would be calm and actually hopped around my feet. But the moment I would move, the panicked scurrying would start again.
At one point I found myself thinking, “Bunny, be still and just know that I am here to help you. I’m here to set you free from your captivity.” Of course, the bunny didn’t know or couldn’t understand my intentions. I was just a frightening large creature in a rather small and confined space. Finally, I was able to coral the little thing and remove it from its prison.
I was reflecting on that moment and how much I wanted to help the bunny, how it kept panicking and scampering away from me, and then my thought of “Be still and know that I’m here to help you.” A verse from the Bible came to mind. It seems there’s a Bible reference to “Be still and know…” Yes, it’s Psalm 46:10
My experience with the bunny gave me a new perspective on Psalm 46. After all, Psalm 46 speaks of mountains shaking and falling into the sea, waters roaring and foaming (that sounds turbulent and scary to me), and nations being in an uproar (that’s reality in our world today). This is all pretty frightening stuff!! And what is the human response to these types of situations in our world?? We panic and we scurry around. We move faster and faster thinking that if only we can do more, we can fix it. But Psalm 46 reminds us that we are called to a different response, one that doesn’t involve panicking… “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) This response recognizes whom is in our midst.
The truth is, God is here standing in the window well, or the world, with us. Yes, many times we don’t recognize God’s presence, we’re just frightened by what’s going on in the world around us. Yet God stands there patiently and calmly saying, “Be still and know I’m here to help you. I’m here to rescue you from what is confining and scaring you.” In the midst of the chaos and all that is frightening in our world, maybe we need to listen close and hear these words that God is speaking to us today, “Be still and know that I am God.” Today, take a moment to put your own name in verse 10, _______, be still and know that I am God…and I am here to help you! Chaos is temporary. God’s presence and love is steadfast and forever. Amen…and Amen!!
Serving Together,
Pastor Keith