Give me the strength to do nothing

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
- Psalm 46:10 NIV

This past weekend at the Saturday evening service at my home church I found myself praying something after communion that seemed odd to me.
'Lord, give me the strength to do nothing.'
It struck me so much that I had to write it down on paper as soon as I finished. It does seem rather peculiar upon first glance. Shouldn't I be asking God to give me the strength to do something, anything?! I thought a lack of action was a sign of resignation or giving up. What good will doing nothing bring?

The verse above from Psalm 46 gives a clearer picture to what I meant that evening.
(And I should start by clarifying that by doing 'nothing' I meant that I needed the strength to resist my urge to make an outward, controlling reaction to my situation. I wanted so desperately to be in control.)
I notice from time to time that my patience is not as strong as it could be. Yes, I can calmly handle an unexpected conversation with someone when I need to get some work done, but put me behind the wheel of my car in heavy traffic or in front of my computer when the internet is down and WHOA...I snap like a twig. Lately I have learned that in traffic I just need to breathe and put in a Veggie Tales mix from my friend Tracey, and that sometimes I just need to step away from the computer screen before my rage escalates any further (and my computer lives to see another day...for now).
But I do let my frustration get the better of me sometimes. In stressful and emotionally painful situations my first instinct is to 'fix it.' "Never mind that perseverance through times of trial leads to spiritual maturity, I just want everything to be ok NOW."
No matter how many different scenarios I run through my mind, none of them ever end up happening or making things better. They just keep me dwelling on the problem rather than its purpose.

So in this sense sometimes it is more difficult to sit back and do nothing. Don't say something you will regret, don't call and text repeatedly, don't talk to everyone you know about it...
...and above all else do NOT get in God's way. 'Be still' and know that God is in charge, NOT YOU. He is the creator of heaven and earth and you. He knows what you are going through and, believe it or not, He will carry you through it. It may take a long time and it may not be easy, but you will come out of it a stronger person if you allow God to work in you through the situation.
And the truth is that there is something you can do. Can you guess what it is?

Pray.

Yes, it is that 'simple.' Some people think that praying is almost as good as doing nothing. But prayer is powerful and speaks far more loudly and clearly than actions sometimes. We've all read the verse in Matthew about asking, seeking and knocking:

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."
- Matthew 7:7-8 NIV

And again, we've read the story of the fig tree:

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
- Matthew 21:21-22 NIV [italics added]

I could go on about the power of prayer (and I probably will in a later blog post), but I will come back to my prayer at the beginning. It does take a huge amount of strength for those of us with less patience to sit back and let God work. We feel that maybe our prayers aren't enough for the time being. We want to be used by God and needed by God. And we are! God does want us to love and serve him. We just need to be patient with his commands. And above all else we need to "pray continually(1 Thessalonians 5:17)."

Be still and know that He is God...