Be Still!

Be Still!

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalms 46:10 KJV

Context:

The sons of Korah, known for their songwriting, are credited with the words of today's extract. There is a place for other people's testimonies, but there is an undeniably powerful testimony when it is your own experience. These sons wrote about God being a refuge, strength and an ever present help in trouble. You won't understand or write about it unless you have experienced it. What is the sum total of my experience of God over the years I have walked with him? Which of these attributes can I say has become a personal story to support my faith? 

So, the sons of Korah, having seen this God at work, invite us all to come and see what the Lord has done, and all the works he has wrought upon the earth. Where necessary, he has brought desolation upon the earth to teach it lessons. There have been famines, wars and disease, and where necessary also, he has made wars to cease. A quick look at the accounts of the bible help put these in perspective. Noah had a flood that destroyed the earth at the time, and then the same God ensured that Solomon never fought a single war all through the 40 years he was king, and the same God ordered king Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites, leaving no one alive. With God, there is no box to fit him into. He does as he pleases, and does not answer to anybody. He can decide to favour me, even in the face of staunch opposition by men. It really would not matter: if God is on your side, vain is both the help and the opposition of man. If God is against you, vain is the help of a million men.

Message and Response:

In the light of the above, today's extract is a quiet message that calls my attention to what is really important. It starts with the two words: be still. In a world that seems to reward activity, this is a strange command. In a world that celebrates motion, even if it is in the wrong direction, I have to be careful to pause as commanded here, and consider what God would have me do. Why do I need to be still? Could it be so that I can see, hear and understand clearly what God would have me know about him? If I am caught up in activity and motion, would my heart be still enough for God to make an imprint on it? God wants to reveal himself to all men, but he can only do so for all who dare to search for him.

Being still helps me to recognise who God is, when he is at work and what he is doing per time. It helps me not to run ahead, confident in myself, or be so far behind that I do not know where he has turned, but to just keep in step with him. Knowing God is the best discipline and discovery a man can find; when you know God, you have found life's best gift. anyone can have.

Among the heathen who do not even know God, he says he will be exalted. That means that whatever God does will bring him glory, even among those who claim that he does not exist. This is the God who made the heavens and the earth before any of us were ever born, so he knows how to keep the earth ticking long after we are gone. He really does not need us to prove he is God, as he can use even stones to bring him glory. It is a privilege for me to be called by the name of the Lord and to bear allegiance to him. I must see every opportunity to speak of him as a privilege, and to see every opening as an opportunity to make God known. I could have been dead now, but that would still not prevent God from being God. Being alive is itself proof that God is God: the one who can kill and can also make alive. That is the God who speaks here and calls me to be still before him.

Which areas of my life need to be quiet so that God can be revealed in them? What areas of my life do I need to submit to God so he can take glory in and through them? What area of my life is still raising itself against the standard of God? It is important that I sort this out, because eternity lies at the end of these decisions. If I do not know him now, a day is soon coming when God will sit as the judge of the whole earth he has created; then, all men will know him as God. Now that I can, I must surrender my life to him and allow him total access and control. Does he have it now? His time of favour is here.