Eight Little Words

"Be still, and know that I am God..."  (Psl. 46:10a)

For some odd reason, when we start to lose our way, we tend to double our speed. If things are not quite right in our Christian lives, we feel it is because we are not doing something; when all the while, our frenzy may itself be the culprit. That seems to be what this little phrase in Psalm 46 is saying.

BE STILL:  This takes for granted you haven't been. The opposite of still is moving, which is not a bad thing, but was never meant to be an end in itself. Activity should have a purpose. Some people's incessant talking is just to hide the fact that they have nothing to say. They carry a bucket with such speed and precision that only a few discerning people notice there is nothing in it. Be still; then what?

AND KNOW:  Is God saying we will never know much as long as we remain in motion? Sounds like it. It's hard to learn things on the run. It’s not impossible, but it’s not advisable. Any knowledge or insight acquired in this way comes by experience, a less than perfect teacher. (It tests first and teaches later.) Instruction is the best; and as any good teacher knows, teaching a moving child is like trying to hit a moving target! Samuel told Saul in 1 Sam. 9:27, "[S]tand thou still a while, that I may show thee the word of God." If we’ll take time to stop and listen, God will take time to stop and teach; and we will know. Know what?

THAT I AM GOD:  And this—the knowledge of God—will be well worth our stopping. Daniel 11:32 tells us, the people who know their God "shall be strong…” Christians who are “strong in the Lord” (Eph. 6:10) and able to “endure hardness” (2 Tim. 2:3) are the ones who know their God. And the ones who know their God are those who are willing to “be still.”  “In quietness,” says Isaiah, “shall be your strength” (30:15).

Eight little words, but O, what truth they hold! Dear tired, hurried saint of God…be still.

“What is death but the Almighty Father saying to our talking lips, ‘Be Still’? And I for one believe that in that stillness we shall awaken to know that He is God, in such a love and power as will be heaven.” – George H. Morrison