Be Still

“Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations He has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields with fire. He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’” Psalms‬ ‭46:8-10‬ ‭NIVUK‬‬

“Be still and know that I am God” is one of those Scripture verses much quoted by Christians in times of stressful activity. But in its Scriptural context it has associations with wars and weapons of destruction, within an environment where God is dealing with the warring tendencies of people, replacing them with an acknowledgement of His status as God of all nations everywhere. Of course the Psalmist was writing in an age of armed strife between the Israelites and the surrounding nations, but wars didn’t end then and are still taking place today. So perhaps this was a prophetic message for the apocalyptic times we read about in Biblical books such as Ezekiel, Isaiah and Revelation. When the world as we know it will end and be replaced by a “new Heaven and a new earth”, as the Apostle John wrote about in Revelation 21, or when the last days prophesy in Isaiah 2:1-4 comes to pass.

But whatever the circumstances, to be still in God’s presence is an important part of our devotions, our personal time spent with God. I don’t know if you are like me, and through activity want to “fix” things in our families or in the communities of faith of which we are a part. Well, God sometimes encourages us to be still in His presence. Allowing Him to do what is necessary to bring about His will and purposes in the lives of the people around us.

“Being still” perhaps involves a time of worship, reading a passage of Scripture, sitting or kneeling in prayer, allowing His Spirit to wash over us. And enabling us to exalt Him in our time of solitude, seeing Him lifted up and given His proper place as Lord of all we are. How many times have I done that and found that whatever I wanted to “fix” had somehow been resolved by God Himself, and in a much better way than I would have achieved? Being still in God’s presence helps us see God for who He really is – the high and exalted One, the Lord over all the earth.