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0:00:18 - Speaker 1 Hey y'all, welcome to the podcast, where we are who we say we are, and that's real dope and redeemed. I am your host, albertine, and today we are talking about being still. Before we get into the episode, i would like to thank y'all in advance for listening, interacting, rating and sharing the episodes. Please follow us on Instagram and YouTube at RealDopeUnderScoreRedeemed. In addition to rating the show on your listening app and commenting on YouTube, you can also email us any questions, opinions, topic ideas and so on. Our email is in the show notes.

Y'all, i named this podcast RealDope and Redeemed for many reasons, mainly because when the title came to me about a year ago, i loved it and ran with it, but I truly stand on its meaning. One thing I know about God and myself is I cannot, nor will I ever, get on this platform and speak on anything I have not experienced, am not experiencing or have some type of personal revelation with. So when I was preparing for this episode a few weeks ago, i kept getting stuck, and that's why it's been delayed. And I couldn't figure out why I kept getting stuck on this topic, because it's been a part of my lifestyle for years now and I've done my research. The disconnect was that I haven't practiced it in a while. As I prepared for this episode, on and off over the past weeks, i realized that I have not been living by one of the best pieces of advice I've ever received, and that is, and I quote, the answer is almost always to be still. So today we're talking about being still, but before we get into what it means to be still, i would like to give one disclaimer. One thing to keep in mind during this episode and upon reflection is that be still does not mean do nothing. We will get into that later in the episode, but I felt it was important to put that out there.

My interpretation of stillness is the act of faith that communicates to God that when you don't know what to do, you will wait on him. But keep in mind that waiting is not good enough. It's how you wait. So let's get into scripture. The phrase be still is seen throughout the Bible and, depending on the context, it could mean different things like rest, weight, calm down, but I want to start off talking about the silence aspect of it. Exodus 1414 says the Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still Now. This is why context is so important, especially when reading the Bible, because if you just read that highlighted Bible verse, like I just did, you'll think that it's a comforting or encouraging verse, which in a way it is. But Exodus 14 is where Moses is leading the Israelites out of Egypt. This is the passage actually right before God splits the sea. So, like I said, without context, it sounds like Moses is being encouraging but really they're getting on his nerves.

The MSG translation of Exodus 1414 says God will fight the battle for you and you keep your mouth shut. So, yeah, he was telling them to shut up. I guess the holy way back then. I don't know. But what I got when I read this passage was that being still, as in being silent, can be our protection and that we are allowing God to fight for us. We need to be silent to keep ourselves from blocking our own blessings, because if we're in a place of fear and not being silent, chances are we're complaining, worrying or feeding fear in another way, which is exactly what the Israelites were doing. But the way I understand it is, silence is a very loud way of telling God that He is God. Being still requires trusting God. The more known appearance of the phrase is Psalms 46, verse 10, which reads Be still and know that I am God When we are still in the act of silence. It is a display of faith because we're not acting on what we see or what we think we know.

The Israelites were scared, and I mean they're escaping this army that is after them and they can't even run because the army is coming from one direction and the sea is blocking another direction. It looks like a helpless situation. So it's like can you blame them for panicking? And I say yes, because it's so crazy to be panicking in this situation when they literally watch God turn the Egyptians water to blood, cause a plague of frogs, hail and illness and so much more to get them out of Egypt. And even on the journey, they saw God himself lead them, during the day as a pillar of cloud, and even at night he led them as a pillar of fire. So it's like y'all are actually getting to see God work for you.

How can you still panic? But the truth is, we do the exact same thing every single day. We are no different from them. God has come through for us time and time again, yet we still panic. There's even this meme that's going around. That's like I know everything is going to be all right, but I'm just going to panic first, and I know it's a joke, but a lot of us live like that.

And can I suggest to you something that one of my teachers in this season always says? her name is prophetess Tiffany Montgomery. Check her out. I'll leave a link to one of her YouTube videos in the show notes. I'm actually reading one of her books right now and I can't wait to talk to y'all about it. But anyway, she says make a vow to worship before you worry And like, yeah, that hit, because we are humans and things happen. But let's try worship before worry instead of panicking before praise. It's good. So I'm going to say it one more time Worship before you worry Instead of panicking before you praise.

All right, so be still and know that he is God. When you are still, you take a moment to reflect on God. You take a moment to think about who he is and what he's done. One thing about God his track record is too good. You cannot sit still and think about everything God has done for you and his entire character. God is good, god is love. You cannot sit in all of that God's faithfulness and still worry or panic. It's just not possible. And know that fear can never outshine your story. The fear of whatever you're experiencing now can never outweigh everything you've been through. You know, and that's why it's so important for us to reflect.

I have to remind you that the enemy is a liar and his only weapon is fear. That's the whole thing about it. Fear is a weapon of the enemy. It's a trick of the enemy. It's not real. Fear will tell you that you're not enough. When God calls you chosen. Fear will tell you that you're too broken. When Jesus is your healer, fear plays on your insecurities. When God says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, fear comes in and forms confusion. When 1 Corinthians, chapter 14, verse 33, says God is not a God of confusion but of peace, the moment you sit and tell your fear about God, you're fighting back.

In episode one, decision Day, we talked about picking aside. If you are not fighting against the lies of the enemy with the word of God, chances are you're being your own op. And when you feed into negative thoughts or talk, you are helping your enemy. And if you allow it to become a habit, your enemies won't even need to do anything, you will be on full autopilot, talking about my panic attacks, my anxiety, my depression. Stop claiming those things. They're not things that belongs to you. They are experiences. We really need to be more careful what we agree to, with the words we use. But that's another episode.

When we are still and know that he is God, you take a moment to really know he is God, know his word, know him. There is protection in being still. There is protection in silence. That's just good advice. Period. Proverbs 17-28 says Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent. With their mouth shut, they seem intelligent. Basically, nobody knows you're dumb unless you open your mouth. You know so, yeah, that's the RDR translation, y'all. But seriously, when I say there is protection in silence, i'm really referring to not just us being silent, but being in silence. Turn off the noise, get alone with God. There's no wonder we have so much confusion going on or feelings of being overwhelmed when we are constantly listening to so many voices. If we're not in conversations, we're listening to music or podcasts, watching entertainment or on social media, listening to hundreds of voices and opinions on a weekly basis, and it's like at what point do we actually hear God's voice? We need to turn everything off and get alone with God. When you do that, not only are you removing distractions, but it's a sacrifice, in a sense, that you're putting God first, where he belongs.

We are living in very dangerous times spiritually, because there are a lot of wolves in sheep's clothing on pulpits preaching false doctrines and people don't know, especially because they don't read their Bibles. Like, how will you know if somebody is lying to you about the Word of God if you never once opened your Bible to, fact-checked it or pray for discernment or revelation so that you can know when somebody is lying to you? Like this is not something to take lightly. God will tell you oh, god knows your heart and you run with it because you see it as a gateway to do whatever you want. But the Bible says in Jeremiah, chapter 17, that the heart of man is desperately wicked. So yeah, god knows your heart and that's exactly why he sent Jesus as your Redeemer and asked you to turn away from your ways and deny your flesh over and over and over. So if you don't take anything else from this episode, you can stop right here and go get alone with God. He has a lot more for you than I ever will. If you are feeling like you're in a fight, use your silence as protection and go to the one who will fight the battles for you.

Earlier, i mentioned that B still does not mean do nothing. When you are still, you can pray, you can worship, you can continue to work on things you know you're supposed to do until you get clarity and instructions on the next step. Being still does not mean just lay down and let time go by. And, in the same way, b still does not mean do nothing. Being still does not mean God isn't doing anything. If we're being honest, you're probably getting in your own way by constantly thinking you need to do something in order for God to move. He does not need you, friend. If nobody ever told you, let me be the first. God does not need your help. He is your help. So, to wrap this up, i do want to remind you that the answer is almost always to be still, but that doesn't mean do nothing. Know that God got you. Pray, get along with him. It's okay to rest, it's okay to get away. Silence does not have to be scary.

A verse that I want to leave you with, which is easily my top five is Psalms 91, verse 1. It says He that dwells in the sacred place of the most high will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I'm not going to get into it. I want you all to pray on it, read it and I hope you find that sacred place with God, whatever it looks like for you, so that when life gets shaky, you know where you can go rest. All right, that's all I got for this episode. Subscribe to our YouTube at RealDopeUnderSquare redeemed. Follow us on Instagram. Leave some feedback, as always. God bless for real.

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