When Jesus Says “Shhh…”: A Word of Encouragement
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When Jesus Says “Shhh…”: A Word of Encouragement
Prolonged warfare can cause even the most seasoned prayer warrior to become weary beyond words. I believe many of us have experienced this in the previous months.
While praying recently, God reminded me of a day, not too long ago, when I was fatigued.
I had scheduled a time to pray with a friend from out of town. When the day and time arrived, I was exhausted. Some unexpected things had taken place and I no longer felt the energy to pray a fervent prayer. When my friend arrived, she looked about as frazzled and weary as I felt.
I invited her in, and we began to talk. We talked about things going on in life, nothing major, just everyday things – suddenly, a hush came over the room. It was a hush you could feel.
It was as if Jesus Himself walked into the room, placed His finger to His lips and said, “Shhhhh.”
We became still in His presence.
After a few moments, she asked, “Did you sense that?!”
“Yes” I responded.
We quietly began to pray.
As I prayed, the Lord took me to the story in Mark 4:39 where Jesus was on the boat with the disciples when the storm began.
As you may recall, the disciples were afraid and woke Jesus from His sleep. The word of God says, “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, peace, be still. and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mk 4:39).
That was exactly how it felt in my home that night. A great calm came over the atmosphere.
God began to show me that Jesus had stood up and spoken over us, “Peace, be still.”
His words caused the weariness and storms we had been dealing with to cease. They immediately melted away.
It was the same peace the disciples felt that day in the boat. Peace, be still.
The following morning as I pondered the night’s events, I meditated on the scripture in Mark. I found it meant something different than I first imagined.
I assumed the word peace in the scripture was shalom, but it wasn’t, it was a different word, siopao. This word means, silence, a hush, properly, muteness, involuntary stillness, or inability to speak.
Aha! This was exactly what we experienced.
As I dug a little deeper into the scriptures, I found the words, be still to mean: to close the mouth with a muzzle, to muzzle, to stop the mouth, make speechless, reduce to silence.
It was a powerful insight that day and it still rings true today.
That night Jesus stepped into the room and said, “Shhhh.” When He did, He was commanding every storm in our life to cease. He reduced all the things that were causing heaviness or weariness to a place of silence. They no longer had the power to speak into our lives. It was, indeed, a powerful Insight.
Today, I believe He reminded me of that night for a reason.
He is speaking to you and me today. To those who have become weary from the battle, He is proclaiming, “Shhh…peace be still” into your heart, your mind, and your emotions.
He is speaking to the storms in our life and commanding peace, commanding them to be silent and cease existing. He is speaking into our life and commanding a great calm to come and abide at this very moment. He is declaring those storms no longer have power in our life for Jesus purchased our peace at the Cross.
While it’s true we need this type of calm and peace in our nation, we first must experience it in our personal lives and in our family.
God is a good God. Nothing is impossible with Him, and nothing is impossible for you. Allow Him to speak into your situation right now. Allow Him to still the storm inside of you, to diminish the turmoil in your mind. Let that calm come.
At the sound of His mighty voice, calm must come, storms must dissipate, and peace must replace turmoil.
There are times in our lives when the storms speak louder than God’s Word. We have walked through such a season, and it doesn’t seem to be letting up. But Jesus is speaking. Don’t allow the world’s voice to be louder than His. Tune into Him and listen for His, “Shhh.”
I don’t know what storm is raging in your life, but I do know, without a doubt, that the Lord is present to calm the storm, if you will only believe. It is my prayer that every storm is silenced this day and you too experience a great calm, as our Lord whispers in your ear.
Mighty intercessors, you are vital in this season. Don’t allow the battle to weary you – instead find strength in God, in Jesus, and His Word. And allow Him to still the storm.
Once peace invades our homes, it will flow out to our city’s and our states. It will saturate our nation. In the meantime, we must stand firm and remain in peace…for in this earth, we are the voice of calm…and we can only be that voice, if we first receive it from Him. Remember, Jesus Himself said, “Apart from God, I can do nothing.” Neither can we.
Does this encourage you? Share in the comments below how Jesus has calmed a storm in your life!
Bio:
Author Kim Potter is a writer and the founder of A New Thing Ministries, which sends a daily teaching to thousands of people all around the world. Her articles have appeared on The Elijah List, Charisma, Spirit Fuel and iBelieve.com. Kim’s message is one of hope. She speaks to the heart of those who have grown discouraged or disappointed by the circumstances of life, imparting hope. To receive her daily inspirational writings, go to www.anewthingministries.com. (Photo Credit: Amy Treasure/Unsplash).
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Comments
This word goes with the cess fire I believe God is calling over Russia and Ukanine. We can not remain perpetually in a war storm. Both sides are weary by now. The world is weary of watching. Lord, we cry to you to bring about a cess fire followed by a peace agreement for Russia and Ukraine for the sake of humanitarian peace. Thank you Jesus.
I was praying for peace of a situation in my life last night as I fell asleep and this morning for Jesus to help let this situation go out of mind and not let the actions or inactions of others cause me unrest. And I didn’t read this until 10:30 this morning, It was meant for me at this time. I am praying for this peace to stay and to overcome the situation. In Jesus’ name. Thank you Jesus.
I was awakened at 3 AM to dig deeper into Paul’s words about anxiety, at a time when being anxious was totally justifiable. There, too, there is more to those words.
I meant to read this yesterday, but it wasn’t for me, yet. It was for today, and I thank God He gave you these words of comfort. And power.
“Don’t allow the world’s voice to be louder than His. Tune into Him and listen for His, “Shhh.””
“…find strength in God, in Jesus, and His Word. And allow Him to still the storm.”
John 16:33 I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
John 6:63
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”
Revelation 17:13-14
13 These kings have one purpose: to yield their power and authority to the beast.
The Victory of the Lamb
14 They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”
Last week, I heard in myself, ” Susan, you are a glutton. You’re constantly nibbling on food, news and other things not of the Lord.” I fasted that day and much of the next from food, news, and the internet. I continue to struggle in my passion for Him. I do not need to. I continue to struggle in the burdens of my heart. Are they HIS or mine? God is in control. Jesus Christ has conquered the world. Holy Spirit, You are Abundant Life.
Thank You Father for Kim Potter. In her message, I am reminded of Jesus’s words. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Yes, let us “remember, Jesus Himself said, “Apart from God, I can do nothing.” Neither can we.” As she waits upon You Father, I pray You will bless Kim in a totally unexpected way today. I ask the same for us all, in Jesus’ Name. Amen
Thank you, this speaks right into my life.
Thank you Kim Potter!
You are always such an encourager!
I receive your posts all the time & they are always uplifting & food for thought💝
YES exactly how I have been feeling A couple if days ago I think I had just had it I said Father God I’m not asking for these situations to stop I’m only asking for Your Presence to hold and hug me I can’t stand it anymore A GREAT PEACE CAME AND STILL HAVE IT I have a Calendar with scriptures in my kitchen And it says BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD Thank you for sharing your story God Bless you And Yes CHRIST JESUS IS LORD AMEN
It is a learned task to walk that path in the increments of demonic torment of today. I pray for that close of an experience with Jesus
What a statement…what a prayer.. as bold as Paul’s. May this be so in Herb Lord. May this be so in us all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.
I truly needed to hear your encouraging words. Our God is bigger than our problems, and there isn’t anything too difficult for Him. Today there were many saying we are on the brink of World War III, the deaths from the jab are in the millions world wide, yet they are still being given, inflation, and personally I can’t help but think the governments of the world have all joined the world economic forum lead by the devil himself. As I stopped and read your article all these issues stopped, became froze in time. Peace, God’s peace began to settle into my mind. Thank you for reminding me to rest in Him.
What a wonderful article! We need so much to be enabled to “calm down” in our hearts and souls in these turbulent times. Who better to calm us than Jesus!
My daughter and her husband are still in a storm caused by cancer. Her husband was has been very close to death. Just yesterday he started being to eat a little more and is feeling that he really wants to get well! I want to send her your article! I hope that’s OK!
k
I agree that this is a wonderful insightful article. I am praying for your son-in-law to be healed in Jesus Name.
Yes.
Earlier this year, I sense the Holy Spirit gave me 10 points to stand on. I have shared them with others. The very first one is this exactly stated, “Do not allow the voice of the world to drown out the voice of God.” Almost word for word as stated above. That was #1. Here is the rest of the list He gave me.
2. Do not allow fear to creep in and take root.
3. Seek first His kingdom.
4. Seek first with praise and worship.
5. Pray
6. Be a thankful person
7. Maintain fellowship
8. Be a light in dark places
9. Put on the armor of God and pick up the “sword of the Spirit” which is the word of God.
10. Just Do It.
Meditate and ponder these. I still believe these are so relevant today
Thanks for sharing that. I took a picture so I can remember it.
This is a confirmation that I received 2 weeks ago. Praise and worship more. Declare the Lord’s promises. Breath Him in so I can pour out with strength and power. Only put my hands to what the Holy Spirit is leading me to do.
I am SO THANKFUL for the times in my life that I have been weary in the battle and Jesus has given His peace that passes understanding. I am so THANKFUL that I can rest and just BE IN Jesus, knowing that God has it all in control and that HE is able to laugh at the nations’ raging. Yes, I pray, but I take my rest in Him.
Excellent article of encouragement!!! Thank you so much for it. I truly needed it.
I was just reminded of an incident a few weeks ago. I got very overwhelmed of all the things that need to be prayed for and how much evil seems to be prevailing. Being bombarded with prayer requests from so many organizations, I became overwhelmed and felt quite inept/impotent. I happened to be driving at the time and talking to the Lord. No sooner that I stopped talking, it was like an audible voice in my spirit. Pray for their salvation. While I can pray for all of these issues/events, etc., one simple thing is to pray for salvation for all those in power down to the individual who is on the street. Pray for the daily walk of those who know the Lord. Keep it simple. I know the Holy Spirit prompts us to pray for certain issues at specific times. But we always can pray for salvation for those perpetrating evil.
Such a good word for this season that we’re in. Thank you, Kim.
Dear Lord, may we fix our eyes on You and not the storm. Sometimes we may not even know what to pray. Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Savior. In Jesus name. Thank you for the encouragement. We all need it sometimes.
Good word Kim
Thank you. The message for the season.
Just a few days ago, I felt weary and stressed out over everything happening in our country. Found myself asking out loud how much more destruction are we going to have to put up with? I don’t even know what to pray! That “shhh” moment came over me. I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me to rest and reminding me what Jesus did when He was stressed. Jesus would find a quiet place where He could be alone to pray and receive from His father. I followed Jesus’ example: quiet and alone I relaxed, prayed, and listened for the small voice from within. The Holy Spirit reminded me of how much our Father loves me (John 3:16) and that we are His family. What a blessing to be members of God’s family! Let that sink in. He loves, guides, guards, protects, heals, and provides for us. (Psalm 91 was very helpful to me.) God wants to have a loving relationship with each of us. No matter what we face in life we have His promises that we can trust.
May God bless you and your family throughout the remainder of this month. Amen.
Beautiful article. Just want to point out that Jesus said:
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. †. John15:5
Thanks. God bless. (These seemingly small things do matter a great deal.)
LORD, We know well the battle is Yours. Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. By Your Spirit may we stand against the enemy’s flaming arrows, causing anxious thoughts, worry, fatigue and loosing our prospective. May we hear Your ‘shh’ Your still small voice. May we once again fix our eyes on You and not the storms.
You are our Prince of Peace and we give You honor and praise. Father God, our help comes from You, who made the heavens and the earth. We pray this in the mighty name of the One who died to set us free! Jesus!!
” May we once again fix our eyes on You and not the storms.” Yes, Dorothy Cameron, Amen!
Glory Lord! Halle-freakin-LuJAH! I amended the prayers and good word of encouragement and inspiration and exhortation in this article, sweet kiss AND Bear Hug from You, Poppa God! I know it’s true true too, cause just this past Tuesday You gave me a whole day to rest on Your shoulders!!! I so
needed to be still and I didn’t know it but You soooooo did!
Lord, bind the lying lips of the enemy to Your people, and loose Your Holy Spirit, Sonship, deep, deep trust in Your goodness, so we hear You, obey You, and so we show Your love in our words and bold deeds of righteous love/care….so our Heavenly Father is glorified, even by unbelievers!
Becky, I’m so glad for your excitement, hallelujah means praise Yah, just ask you to pray about the words you use as that f-word you used is usually a substitute for the other f-word. I don’t believe you meant it that way at all but I used to say that substitute word a lot but God has cleansed it from my mouth, praise the Lord!! Know that I’m not judging you, just sharing the freedom God can bring to even your speech! Blessings in Jesus name!
I tried to say “Amen” to your post, because
even though it is not the words I would use,
I could tell your heart is right toward the
things of God. It isn’t easy for us to say
what we feel in our innermost self; with the
words of the Spirit of God we have heard in
that holy place within us reserved for Him.
There is so much more to the Scripture than
most of us allow ourselves to enjoy on an
on-going basis. I hope you will keep your
joy in Him and be blessed, always. In
Jesus Mighty Name, Amen.
Yes and amen Kim and to each and every comments well. This weariness in “doing good” has been a constant throughout time, even Jesus experienced weariness. When He sat by the well in Samaria, He was weary. My amen is a humble one as many have burdens I will never know. To all of you I pray blessings upon blessings. May His blessing of quiet fill your lives, homes and work places. May He continue to increase our faith, to God be the Glory. Amen
https://biblehub.com/john/4.htm
Thank you for this encouragement today. Yes, I get weary of praying because I am not seeing results that I want to see quickly enough. We are encouraged to continue in prayer and not to faint. I am “shhh…ing” things of this world and listening to His “siopao”.
Beautiful and so needed, in all our hearts! Truly, for such a time as this.
Father- thank you for this reminder…you calm our storms. That apart from you we can do nothing. May we be filled with your peace knowing you are there, taking care of the storm and lovingly seeing us through it. Lord, help us to feel the calm that your presence brings and that you are sovereign and will use the storm for good in our lives. This world is not our home Lord…we are foreigners, but one day soon you will bring us home…oh what a glorious day that will be! Until then, keep us focused on You and calm our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!
This message truly ministered to my heart because I have been so very physically fatigued and weary fighting the battle in prayer against all of this evil in our land and throughout the world at this present time. So I will take heed of the Lord’s words to “Be still and know that I am God.” We need to truly learn to let Jesus carry this burden with us. Then it will become more easy and light. Lord I pray for all of my intercessor friends that they will lean into Jesus as we walk this journey together.
Amen and amen. Just what I needed after completing another busy emergency room shift. We often end up staying late because there’s literally no one to hand off to and it does seem endless. Shhh peace be still. The words and reminder I needed thank you. Michigan
Thank you Ingrid.
Dear Heavenly Father, after reading Ingrid’s comment, I was reminded “‘Well done, good and faithful servant!” I pray she will know Your pleasure in ways totally unexpected. And I pray in each and every one, she would give you praise and glory. Every good and perfect gift is from You, the Father of Light. Thank You Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen