“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
Psalm 46:10-11, NIV*
The Psalm opens with “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1, NIV) From there, the writer expands on both the greatness of God and the magnitude of the trouble.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Or as the New American Standard Bible translates it, “Cease striving.” The context makes me think this “Be still” is addressed to the clamouring nations, but it also applies to the frantic Israelites.
Personally, I paraphrase it as “Stop fighting the universe.”
Be still… cease striving… stop fighting. Sounds good, but once we’re wound up we can’t stop. We’re like a toddler on overload who needs a loving parent to draw her into a big hug and whisper “shhh” against her hair.
Know that I am God…. When we’re still, we can see… experience… understand… learn that He is God.
How? By what He whispers to our hearts? By experiencing His presence? By seeing Him work in our circumstances? All this, and more.
Father, please calm our spirits. Still our souls until we can rest in You.
*New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Let Don Francisco’s song, “Still Your Soul in Silence,” bless you today.
There’s a related post, “Be Still”, at the Moses Free Spirit Missionary Baptist Church Blog. Honest, I wrote mine on my own, and didn’t see this one until May 13/08! I guess the Spirit was whispering “be still” to a lot of us.
Another related post: Rest in God.
Another related post: Being Still.
‘Striving’ – that’s a word I relate to. It caught my eye, immediately I saw it in your piece, as a word I wrote in my journal some days ago, when I was trying to describe how I was feeling. I love the picture of God giving a hug and whispering a “shhh” into the little girl’s hair. (Deep breath) Yes.
I think the devil’s best strategy for getting us away from God is to keep us so busy we don’t hear that still, small voice. I know it happens to me often enough. Be still. Good reminder. 🙂
I just wanted to thank you for your comment last week on my blog (Rest in God). I left a comment for you on my site, but I’m never sure what the right way to respond to a comment is. I agree with you that quiet times are like meals, connecting me to God, who is my very life.