Music Monday: “Still” by Hillsong Worship
by: Debbie Waltz
I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving! It seems like this year has flown by, and yet, when I look back, I realise just how much can happen in a year. There have been moments of joy, unexpected challenges, questions, and seasons that have stretched my faith in ways I never anticipated.
As Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself thinking about gratitude, but also about what it really means to give thanks when life doesn’t look the way we hoped it would. It is easy to be thankful when things are going well, when our health is good and life feels manageable. But what about the seasons when pain and uncertainty seem to occupy so much of our attention? How do we keep our eyes on God when our circumstances make it difficult to see beyond what we are experiencing?
Lately, a song that keeps coming to mind is Still by Hillsong Worship. Its message has been reminding me of something I know in my heart but sometimes struggle to live out: God is still God, regardless of what is happening around me.
When Pain Becomes All We Can See
There are seasons in life when it becomes difficult to see beyond our circumstances. When pain, health challenges, and the uncertainties that come with them take up so much of our attention, it can be hard to lift our eyes and focus on anything else.
I find myself in one of those seasons.
I know that God is sovereign. I know He is in control, that nothing takes Him by surprise, and that my life is held in His hands. I believe these truths with all my heart. And yet, sometimes, knowing the truth and being able to rest in it are two very different things.
My circumstances can become so overwhelming that they occupy my thoughts, my energy, and even my perspective. I find myself looking more at what I am experiencing than at the One who walks with me through it.
Perhaps this is why the song Still resonates so deeply with me. It reminds me that even when the storms of life are raging, God remains God. His sovereignty does not change with my circumstances. His faithfulness is not diminished by my struggles.
The challenge for me is learning to be still—not because everything feels okay, not because the pain has disappeared, and not because I have all the answers, but because God is still God.
When Everything Changes, He Remains the Same
One thing I am learning through this season is that circumstances are constantly changing. My health, my physical strength, my emotions, and even my outlook on life can fluctuate from one day to another.
There are good days and difficult days. Days when hope comes easily and days when simply holding on to what I know about God feels like an act of faith.
But through all these changes, there is One who remains constant.
God does not change with my circumstances. His character is not dictated by my health, my feelings, or the situations unfolding around me. He is just as faithful on my hardest days as He is on my best days. His love does not become less because I am struggling, and His presence does not become distant because I am finding it difficult to see beyond my pain.
I may not always feel steady, but He is steady. I may not know what tomorrow holds, but He already holds tomorrow.
Perhaps the invitation of Still is to shift my focus from everything that keeps changing around me to the One who never changes.
Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
I don’t have to find stability in circumstances that were never meant to be permanent. I can find my stability in a God who is unchanging.
Being Honest With God
There is another aspect of being still that I am learning: being still doesn’t mean silencing my questions.
Sometimes, in our desire to demonstrate faith, we may feel that we shouldn’t question God. We know He is sovereign, we know He is good, and we know His ways are higher than ours. So we may feel that expressing our doubts, frustrations, or questions somehow reflects a lack of faith.
But I am learning that God doesn’t shy away from our questions. He is not intimidated by our struggles or disappointed when we come to Him with an unsettled heart.
Throughout Scripture, we see people who loved God deeply but still wrestled with difficult questions. David poured out his anguish in the Psalms. Job questioned and wrestled with his suffering. The prophets brought their confusion and struggles before God.
What strikes me is that God invites us into an honest relationship with Him. He doesn’t ask us to pretend that everything is okay when it isn’t. He wants our hearts, not a polished version of ourselves.
I can tell Him when I am tired. I can tell Him when I am struggling to understand what He is doing. I can admit when my pain is consuming my thoughts and when I am finding it difficult to be still.
Being honest with God doesn’t mean I have stopped trusting Him. Sometimes, it is precisely because I trust Him that I can bring Him the questions I cannot take anywhere else.
Perhaps being still is not about having no questions, but about knowing where to take them.
Psalm 62:8 (NIV)
“Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
There is something deeply reassuring about knowing that I don’t have to hide my struggles from the very One who knows me completely.
Learning to Be Still
As I reflect on this song, I realise that being still is not necessarily about reaching a place where there are no storms, no pain, no questions, and no uncertainty.
It is about learning to anchor my heart in the One who remains unchanged through it all.
I am still learning. I am still wrestling with my circumstances. I am still learning to shift my focus from what I see and feel to what I know to be true about God.
But perhaps that is what faith looks like in this season: choosing to return my focus to Him, again and again.
The circumstances around me may change. My health may fluctuate. My understanding may be limited. My questions may remain unanswered for a while.
But He remains the same.
And so, even in the middle of everything I am walking through, I want to learn to be still and know that He is God.
As Thanksgiving approaches, perhaps this is what I want to carry in my heart: I don’t have to wait until everything is right to be grateful. I can give thanks because God is faithful, because He is present, and because He remains constant through every season.
The storms may change, the circumstances may change, but God never changes. He is still God. And that is reason enough to be thankful.