Being Still and
Standing Aside As God Works
In
one of her enduringly spiritual and relevant books, The Secret Door to Success, Florence Scovel Shinn offers a most
profound and powerful meditation.
“Spiritual development means the ability to stand still, or aside, and
let Infinite Intelligence lift your burdens and fight your battles.” Simply
put, Shinn recommends “letting go and letting God” as His infinite power,
goodness, knowledge and presence will justly resolve any adversity you
face. You need not demonize people who
attack you. God will vindicate you. Accordingly, forsake extracting revenge upon
anyone and relinquish our right to insist upon their punishment. In His mystery and justice, God will mete out
punishment in a perfect way. He will force
your accusers to live with the direct consequences of their choices. Moreover, if you trust unswervingly in God’s
unquestionable faithfulness, you experience His unfailing love and unending
grace as He perfectly removes daily and lingering obstacles and defeats
longstanding and intrepid adversaries.
It
is so easy to recite Shinn’s meditation with fierce emotion. In contrast, it is very hard to practice it
in daily living. However, I assuredly
attest it works. For so many years, I
reasoned that I had to defend myself against all enemies. I did not think that I could rely upon anyone
to speak on my behalf. As a result, I
inadvertently alienated countless people as I relentlessly defended my honor
and reputation as I resolved I could not trust anyone else to do so. I wrote countless memoranda spanning hundreds
perhaps thousands of pages. I insisted
upon numerous and lengthy meetings in which my very argumentative disposition
further distanced people from me. My
intensity overwhelmed people; the feverish pitch of my anger resembled an
erupting volcano. Though some people
actually agreed with me and believed that I had been falsely accused, they
remained silent lest they be thought as sharing my righteous indignation. My personal attempts at self-justification
and self-vindication failed miserably each time.
As
I incorporate Shinn’s books and meditations into my thinking and practice her
suggestions in daily living, I more greatly acquire peace of mind, happiness
and wellness. Life is considerably less
stressful and emotionally taxing as I learn to be still and watch Almighty God
advocate my cause. Embroiled in a
current battle in which some persons wish inexplicably to eliminate my
position, surprisingly, I remain silent at meetings and allow justice, truth
and righteousness to emerge. Though I
have been on the receiving end of numerous belittling, demeaning and
dehumanizing remarks, I have not fought
back by reciprocating those insulting and harmful words. In total contradiction to the hardwiring of
my personality, I proactively apologized to the authors of the memoranda and
speakers as I reason I must have said or done something to warrant their
vitriol. Further, I offered to meet with
them to clear any clogged channels of communication. I remain open to the redemption of these
relationships; further, I entertain the possibility of reconciliation were all
persons to assemble in good faith and commit willingly to restore our
relationships. As I seek to honor God
with these overtures of establishing genuine peace, He neutralizes my “enemies”
and advocates for me.
Being
still and standing aside demand silence, humility and patience. It is hard to remain silent when I wish to
speak forcefully on my own behalf. In
instances when I am silent, I experience a better outcome. The difference amazes me as I accept my words
can worsen a situation; the very sound of my voice taints a perspective for
some people. Humility means that I
realize that an Infinite Intelligence is better able to resolve
difficulties. My limited view, no matter
who correct, remains imperfect. As I
learn to cease taking myself so seriously,
I must accept the correctness of other people’s opinions. Lastly, patience teaches me to trust that God
does indeed desire the very best outcome for me as He does for everyone
else. He will not bless me at the
expense of others; neither will He favor them at my expense.
Waiting
upon Almighty God equates with cultivating spiritual maturity to rely genuinely
upon Him and developing greater trusts in His faithfulness. Shinn’s meditations are a contemporary
appropriation of the Psalmist’s experience.
During a very turbulent period in his life, the Psalter declares “God is
our refuge and strength; a very present help in the time of trouble.” Later in Psalm 46:10, the Psalter exhorts his
own soul, “Be still and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations.
I will be exalted over the Earth.”
Though wars burst forth, earthquakes occur and the mountains shake, the
Psalter takes refuge in God’s everlasting faithfulness. The Psalter need not fear for his physical
and emotional well-being. As the
Psalter’s Infinite Intelligence, Provision and Protector, Almighty God
perfectly possesses the power to preserve the Psalter. Self-reliance is meaningless. The Psalter realizes rewards and blessings of
being still in the presence of God and allowing God’s favor to bestow unimaginable
joys, mysteries and experiences upon the Psalter.
In
2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat experiences God’s defense against three formidable
armies. Three fierce rivals decide simultaneously
to attack the nation. Jehoshaphat, anxious
at this threat, declares a period of fasting and prayer which includes new born
babies! The king despairs to such an
extent that he cannot eat or sleep. Still,
he wisely and reasonably prepares for battle.
On the day of the conflict, after offering praise and thanksgiving to
God, Jehoshaphat learns from God that he will not have to fight after all. Rather, the Lord will fight for the king and
His people. “This battle is not yours;
it is the Lord’s. Stand aside and see
the salvation of God.” Jehoshaphat
watches the Lord confuse the three armies of His foes; they eventually destroy
each other.
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