Isaiah 30:15

Cast thy burden upon the Lord , and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

It is always weakness to be fretting and worrying, questioning and mis-trusting. What can we do if we wear ourselves to skin and bone? Can we gain anything by fearing and fuming? Do we not unfit ourselves for action and unhinge our minds for wise decision? We are sinking by our struggles when we might float by faith.

Oh, for grace to be quiet! Why run from house to house to repeat the weary story which makes us more and more heart-sick as we tell it? Why even stay at home to cry out in agony because of wretched forebodings which may never be fulfilled? It would be well to keep a quiet tongue, but it would be far better if we had a quiet heart. Oh, to be still and know that Jehovah is God!

There remaineth . . . a rest to the people of God.—My people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.—There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.—They . . . rest from their labours.

The forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Sit still, my daughter.

Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither be fainthearted.—Be still, and know that I am God.—Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?—The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

At my father’s house in the country, there is a little closet near the chimney, where we keep the canes, or walking sticks, of several generations of our family. During my visits to the old house, as my father and I are going out for a walk, we often go to the cane closet and pick out our sticks to suit the occasion. As we have done this, I have frequently been reminded that the Word of God is a staff.

During the war, when we were experiencing a time of discouragement and impending danger, the verse “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD” (Psalm 112:7 WNT) was a staff to walk with on many dark days.

We are to enter into God’s chamber, and hide there, and be still. Then God will call us “those who live quietly in the land.” Have this stamp upon you.

Be quiet outside—you will then be quiet inside. Be quiet in spirit. Beware of soul activities. The dross must be burned out to have the mountain vision. We must get back to God only, and cease to see the human instruments. Hide deeper in God. He must be real—more and more real! Hide with Christ in God at the Throne; be at the Spring of things!

Is there any note in all the music of the world as mighty as the grand pause? Is there any word in the Psalms more eloquent than the word “Selah,” meaning pause? Is there anything more thrilling and awe-inspiring than the calm before the crashing of the storm, or the strange quiet that seems to fall upon nature before some supernatural phenomenon or disastrous upheaval? And is there anything that can touch our hearts like the power of stillness?

For the hearts that will cease focusing on themselves, there is “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7); “quietness and trust” (Isaiah 30:15), which is the source of all strength; a “great peace” that will never “make them stumble” (Psalm 119:165); and a deep rest, which the world can never give nor take away. Deep within the center of the soul is a chamber of peace where God lives and where, if we will enter it and quiet all the other sounds, we can hear His “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12).

"Desert sweetened." It was only a sign in a wayside fruit stand. But the golden grapefruit that it advertised took on new value! So will any life that follows the formula given by the Master: "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest" (Mark 6:31).

It was in the loneliness of desert reaches that some of the mightiest of the Old Testament prophets received their message: "Thus saith the Lord." In the desert Jesus met and mastered temptation. Out of a three-year desert retreat came Paul to be the greatest missionary of all time!