My Mom used to tell me all the time, “Be still!” She called me a wiggleworm because I was always fidgeting and spilling things. It’s hard to be still. Try it. Try being still for 5 minutes.
Psalm 46:10 calls us to “Be still and know that I am God.” The implication is that if we could learn to be still, then we would come to know that God is really God. The converse may also be true: we may not know that God is God—that He is real, powerful, and good—because we have not learned how to be still.
The word for “still” in Hebrew is “raphah.” It has many different connotations worth considering. The New American Standard Bible (NASB) translates the word “Cease striving.” In Proverbs, the word is used to mean “slack, slothful, or lazy.”
Being still is a call for body, mind, and spirit. There are so many ways that we can tangibly move in the direction of stillness.
Be still and know that I am God.
Cease striving and know that I am God.
Pause for a moment and know that I am God.
Relax and know that I am God.
Let go and know that I am God.
Stop working for a moment and know that I am God.
Stop talking, be quiet and know that I am God.
Slow down and know that I am God.
Take a deep breath and know that I am God.
Which of these nuanced ways of being still strikes home for you?
So many of us would claim that a deep desire of our heart is to know God. Could it be that this simple verse shows us the pathway? Isaiah affirms the same thing: “In repentance and rest is your salvation; in quietness and trust is your strength.” And then, to drive home what so many of us know, Isaiah adds, “But you would have none of it.” We know what to do, but because it is hard, because it is uncomfortable, we do not do it.
The gauntlet has been thrown down. God has spoken. Will we listen?
My Mother always told me this same thing in Church . If we listen to our Lord and savior all things are possible Amen Amen