Be Still

Be still and know that I am God.  (Psalm 46:10)


Psalm 46 is only 11 verses long.  Most of those verses deal with the power of God in the form of earthquakes, destruction, desolation, his power over wars and the futility of man's weapons in the face of God's power.  If you imagine hearing those verses read aloud, they would probably be read with volume, with emphasis and forcefulness.  Then, in the midst of all that, is silence: "be still and know that i am God."  In the Amplified Bible, instead of "be still", we read "cease striving".  That's the heart of it.  In the midst of chaos, destruction, fear, our own ineptitude in the face of such power, we are to cease striving.  When you get right down to it, what else can we do in the face of the power of Almighty God?  


Not long ago, I sat through a long, drawn-out afternoon as a slow-moving hurricane passed through.  The wind was so strong and I watched the trees bending and the debris fly around and wondered when something was going to crash into the house.  No power, no phones, no cell signal.  And I was by myself.  This was not a huge, deadly hurricane or a tsunami or an earthquake.  But in the face of the force of nature - however forceful nature chooses to be - we are helpless.  Our arrogant notions of being in control fly out the window.  As I watched and waited out this storm, I couldn't help but think how awesome is the power of God!  Nature is the creature; God is the creator.  Even at its most powerful, the power of nature is only a weakened reflection of the power of its creator.  What else can we do in the presence of such an awesome God but stop our strivings - be still.  


The power and holiness of God aren't just displayed in catastrophic circumstances. God's power and holiness are most vividly displayed through his love - in the face and person of Jesus.  Jesus came so that we could know the Father - know his love, his grace and forgiveness, his healing power and power to restore what is broken in the world.  In the face of the hard questions - loneliness, loss, grief, illness - Jesus tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us.  God is holy, God is sovereign, God is in control. When we feel so utterly helpless and useless, God IS:  he is present, he is love, he is good.  Be still and know that he is God.  Cease striving, cease trying to "fix" what is too big to fix - what was never ours to fix in the first place.  


The last verse of Psalm 46 is this:  "The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."  In the midst of all this world can throw at us, the Lord of the universe is with us, he is our fortress, our comfort, our strength.  Be still and know that I am God.