"STILL" by Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson is a gifted teacher of Scripture and a singer/songwriter with a heart for worship. For the 2024 CenterPeace Conference she wrote a song for the conference theme STILL, drawing on Psalm 46. In this powerful song, she encourages us to lay down our weapons as we rest in God for our security and as we seek to be the body of Christ where all are welcome to the table.

Katherine Johnson is passionate about helping people to encounter Scripture in ways that foster a life-giving relationship with God and personal growth in Christlike love. Katherine has over twenty years of ministry experience in a wide variety of fields, both in churches and parachurch organizations. She currently serves as Programming Coordinator for The Reformation Project. Katherine earned an M.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies from Western Seminary and a Th.M. from Columbia Theological Seminary with a focus on Hebrew and Old Testament exegesis. She lives in Texas with her wife Erin.

**This song is copyrighted 2024 by Katherine Johnson. All rights reserved. It has been posted to the CenterPeace YouTube channel with Katherine Johnson's permission. Lyrics below.

STILL

We've seen the devastation
We've heard the battles raging
We've been treated like a danger and a threat
Wounded and rejected
We've seen Bibles used like weapons
So we put on all our armor to keep from being hurt again
In this time of trouble
When the mountain shake and crumble
One steady voice cuts through the noise
God calls to us by name

He says
Be still, be still
Lay down your weapons, drop your defenses
Be still, be still
You don't need to fight or to flee
You already belong here with me
Be still, be still
My love is a shelter for all who would enter
Be still, be still
I'm here, I'm not going away
Let me give you the courage to stay
Still

When we see worlds fall apart
We will not lose heart
We know our God is making all wars to cease
Even in the darkness
He won't hide his presence from us
There's a river through the city, spilling gladness from its streams
We choose the way of Jesus
Who laid down his life to free us
His steady voice calls through the noise
He speaks the words of peace

Be still, be still
Lay down your weapons, drop your defenses
Be still, be still
You don't need to fight or to flee
You already belong here with me
Be still, be still
My love is a shelter for all who would enter
Be still, be still
I'm here, I'm not going away
Let me give you the courage to stay
Still

Still choosing to trust
Still clinging to faith
Still holding out hope at the risk of heartbreak
Still walking in love
Still beating the odds
Still believing we belong here in the City of God!
Where else would we go?
God, our refuge and strength, is our home

Still, we are still
We lay down our weapons, drop our defences
Still, we are still
Building a shelter for all who would enter
Still, still

There are no weapons our God cannot break
No battle lines drawn that he cannot erase
There's room at the table, away from the wars
Our God is a fortress with wide open doors!
Still, still
We're here, we're not going away
With God as our refuge, we choose to remain still