Be Still and Know

"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever- present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea;
though its water roar and foam,
and the mountains quake with their surging. . . .
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:1-3, 10)

Stillness in the Midst of Crisis
Sometimes it looks like the whole world is falling apart. The mountains are crashing into the sea, and the floodwaters are roaring and raging all around us.

At those times the natural tendency is to go into a panic. Our survival instinct kicks in—we are ready for “fight or flight.” We experience anything but inner focus and peace.

Yet, it is precisely in those times that we need to enter God’s “peace that passes all understanding”—in other words, a peace that blows our mind!

Stillness versus Activism
One day when I was reflecting on Psalm 46, I found myself reacting to the words, “be still,” in verse 10: How can I be still? There is so much ministry to do—there are so many people to be reached; there is so much to do for the Kingdom!

Then I read the second half of the verse. God declares: “I will be exalted among the nations!” That means I don’t have to take that responsibility on my shoulder! The Lord proclaims: “I will we exalted on the earth.”

More than ever before, I realized that day that God’s exaltation does not depend on me! He is God, and he truly will be glorified in the whole earth. No opposition from people or Satan can stop the progress of his glory! Although I may be able to participate in some small way to see him exalted, God is the one who will accomplish it!

A. W. Tozer puts it beautifully in a prayer: “Teach us, O God, that nothing is necessary to Thee. Were anything necessary to Thee that thing would be the measure of Thine imperfection: and how could we worship one who is imperfect? If nothing is necessary to Thee, then no one is necessary, and if no one, then not we. Thou dost seek us though Thou does not need us. We seek Thee because we need Thee, for in Thee we live and move and have our being. Amen.” [1]

Therefore I can be at peace. That thought brings such peach to my heart.
I can be at rest. As the NASB puts it for Ps 46:10, I can cease striving, I can let go!

Even when the mountains are crashing, God is in control. He will be exalted in all the earth. I can be still. I can simply be!

[1] A. W. Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy (San Francisco: Harper, 1961), 32.

© 2011 Glenn E. Myers