Be Still

Psalm 46:10a (NKJV) says: "Be still, and know that I am God."

It sounds so simple, just a two step process.  Be still.  And you will know.  But it's not that simple.  In order to get to the second step, you have to be able to do the first step.  But the first step is really hard.  How do you "be still?"

Part of it comes from looking at the rest of the verse and the chapter as a whole.  Starting right out in verse 1, we see "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Just reading it makes me relax; but really thinking about it makes it even better.  A very present help in trouble.  What an amazing thought.  You don't have to sing "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there" and hope for the best.  How awesome is that?!

And continue on to the end of the chapter.  Verse 11 says: "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." That's cool anyway, but let's take "Lord of hosts" and dig into that a bit more.  The name is used in places where things are hopeless and only divine intervention will make a difference.  It is also used in situations where God is urging His people to follow Him so they won't be defeated, taken captive, beaten down.  He is telling them He can stop their enemies from defeating them.

So the first part of being still is allowing God to be God.  Take comfort in the fact that He is present and He knows best.  But there's more to it.

We have to recognize that our culture does not understand stillness.  We constantly have to be on the move with some sort of noise and multiple electronic devices.  Wanna know why I still have printed copies of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, a Bible dictionary, and a couple commentaries?  It's not just because I prefer books to computers, it's because I can get so easily distracted by other things in technology.  If I use my phone, hard as a try, I can't not notice the text, email, and other notifications as I do a word study.  Same with my computer.  There are just too many distractions.

And while I get some great study time in at coffee houses, I can tell you most certainly that it is nearly impossible for me to truly be still there.  The music, the sound of the espresso maker, the coffee grinders, people talking, the door opening and closing.  I could go on and on about the distractions.

Stillness in the sense of knowing God is a matter of the heart and the will.  We have to decide to be still.  We have to make a conscious effort to do so.  So getting away from distractions is not enough.  And knowing God is our refuge and strength is not enough.  We still have to make the decision.  We have to trust that He is enough, even when it doesn't make sense, even when everything around us says it isn't true.  And then, only then, can we truly be still.

Make time in your life to get away from all your electronic gizmos, all the noise and hubbub of life around you, and just breathe in the wonderful aroma that is time well spent in the presence of the King.  His door is always open.