Be Still and Know that I am God

Be still.  What a strange command amidst a world that constantly yells "GO!", a world that so often places one's worth on accomplishments.  Those who sit still are seen as lazy or wasteful.

I've always struggled with being still.  As a child, I struggled to sit still through long services, classes, and meetings.  As an adult, I struggle with a different kind of stillness.  Constantly I am striving after more, often overwhelming myself with the plans that I make to ensure that my future is better than my present.  Constantly my mind is swirling with to do lists and goals and endless things yet to be done.  Yet I'm commanded to be still.

Perhaps the reason that I struggle so with stillness is because I don't take the time to finish the thought of this verse.  Be still... AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.  Yo.  This isn't stillness simply for the fact of stillness.  This stillness rests in the peace and security of knowing who God is.  It rests in knowing His power, His greatness, His goodness, His holiness.  This stillness rests in knowing God.  Yes, I'm calling to live a life that is glorifying to God, but I am also called to be still in His presence.  I am called to be still and remember the mighty God whom I serve.  I am challenged to be still in my worries as I rest in the greatness of my God. 

I challenge you to read all of Psalm 46.  I challenge you to remember Who are God is, to reflect on Him.  And I challenge you to be still and know that He is God.

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5 God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the LORD has done,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9 He makes wars cease

to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the shields[d] with fire.

10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 The LORD Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.