Be Still

Dear friends,

“Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10a).

A dear friend asked me to comment on this verse. What does it mean to “be still?”

In a Hebrew dictionary, I looked up the word which we translate “still.” There I learned the word can mean to abate, cease, forsake, leave, let alone, slack, stay, or be still. While I was thinking about this, I decided that present day expressions such as “let it go” or “shake it off” would be most accurate. We use those expression when we find ourselves obsessing over some problem, insult, or failure. We tell our friend who is depressed because he did not get the job he wanted, “just let it go.” And we tell our teenagers who have been insulted to just “shake it off.”

Here in Psalm 46:10, God is telling us something similar. Earlier verses in the Psalm describe war, disaster, and trouble. Naturally, we react to these things with worry, stress, or even violent exertions of our own. But the Lord says, “Wait! I have got this! I have got you! You need not agonize over the trouble around you. I am God. Be still and you will know.”

Now this is not to say we don’t take action on our own. When our friend doesn’t get that job he wanted, we expect that he will go ahead and apply for others. But the Lord reminds us, even in our activity, our hearts ought to be still before Him. We always trust that he will take care of us in the face of adversity. This way we can remain in the midst of a troubled world, but have souls that are full of peace and repose.

Your servant,

Stephen

Rev. Stephen St. John
Pastor/Elder