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"BE STILL BEFORE THE LORD" "And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls;From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies." (Numbers 1:1-3)Throughout the book of Numbers, we can read about the children of Israel as they journeyed here and there through the desert or wilderness The word “wilderness” is used forty-eight times in this fourth Book of Moses. You'll notice here in the opening verse, when the LORD spake to Moses, it was in the wilderness.For the Israelites, it was an actual desert. It is also a place, figuratively, for the Christian, who has walked with the Lord for any length of time, is well acquainted with. God often uses desert experiences and wilderness journeys in our lives to speak to us.The desert or wilderness often means seclusion, quiet, and an opportunity to reflect on the Word of God. It is also a time of preparation for that which lies ahead of us. You'll recall that the Lord Jesus spent forty days in solitude, fasting and praying in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-2).Now those quiet times in our lives are intended by the Lord to allow us to become still and listen for God's voice as He speaks to our heart. Psalm 46:10a says, “Be still, and know that I am God:" It's only when we remember to be quiet and still before the Lord that we are able to know His will for our life.Early in the morning, before our day begins, is when we need to sit quietly before Him and wait for Him to remind us again of Who He is and what He bids us to do.I was recently reading a story that took place many years ago about a Grandfather who lost his gold railroad watch and chain in the sawdust of an ice-storage house. After spending all day loading ice blocks into a storehouse with his son and Grandsons, the Grandfather reached into his pocket to check the time, only to discover that sometime during the day he had lost his watch somewhere in the sawdust.The Grandfather told his Grandsons he would give twenty dollars to the one who found his watch. They searched for almost an hour, looking for the old watch without any success. Discouraged, they left the storehouse one by one, except for the youngest Grandson. He stayed inside and closed the door behind the others.Five minutes later, the young Grandson walked out of the storehouse holding the watch while wearing a big smile on his face. His Grandfather asked him how he had found it. The little boy said he simply laid down on his back in the sawdust, and then without moving, held his breath, and listened, Suddenly, he heard the sound of the mechanism in the watch, ticking, just a few feet from his head. The young Grandson said he heard the watch ticking because he had remained STILL and just listened.Friends, let's begin each day we're afforded in that sweet stillness of listening and hear the whisper of our Lord's voice. In doing so, we will surely come away from that quiet time and be more than satisfied with that which our searching soul is longing to find.