“Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Being still is not an American trait. We are an active people who are in a hurry, even if we don’t have anywhere to go. All one has to do is to get on an interstate highway to know what a hurry we are in. If you want to drive the speed limit, you had better get on a two lane highway because the traffic on interstates will not let you. This is an illustration of life in America. We desperately need the message of Psalm 46:10a: “Be still and know that I am God…” We could say this about the entire world. Everyone needs to know to be still in order to know that God is God. What does it mean to be still? We have to stop, be still, and let God speak to our hearts. We are so busy talking and doing that we do not take time to meditate and reflect on God. To be still means to shut up, as well as to cease activity at some time and consider what the will of God is for our lives. If we are going to be centered in the will of God, we will have to stop and listen to Him. I think of the time that Moses was called to lead Israel out of Egypt. He wasn’t busy doing religious things, or talking. He was alone tending sheep, being still and he saw a bush burning that was not being consumed. This was God’s way of getting Moses’ attention in order to reveal His will for him. When God spoke loudly to my heart and turned my mind and my life around, I was alone in my bunk on the U.S.S. Hornet. I was being still and God got my attention. No, I did not see a burning bush, but He got my attention anyway and spoke to my heart. In retrospect, I think that’s when I learned the meaning of “Be still and know that I am God.” I don’t know how you usually worship God on a given day, or even if you do, but I want to suggest that you get alone somewhere, center your mind on God and let Him speak to you. It would help to have your Bible with you and meditate on some of your favorite verses. We have to be still in order to exalt God to the people around us. This doesn’t mean that we go off to ourselves at work. What it does mean that we will not be able to exalt God to others, or witness to them effectively, if we do not spend some time alone with God. When Jesus’ disciples were arrested in Acts, the Jewish leaders “took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.” These men sat at the feet of Jesus for three years, saw His miracles, heard His parables, soaked up His love and it showed to the world. Could it be that the world today does not take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus because we do not spend enough time at His feet? Take a moment and reflect on your private worship. Do you take time each day to be with Jesus and Jesus alone? Being still and meditating and reflecting on God’s word, praying and just quietly worshiping Jesus has a way of making Him show Himself in our lives. The world is crying out for us to be still, to soak up the love of Jesus and let them see it. The world desperately needs for us to do this. Basically, what it means to “Be still and know that God is God,” is to seek Him above all else. This is what Moses did. This is what David did. This is what Peter did. This is what Paul did. This is what all of the great Christians across the ages have done, or they would not have been great Christians. We might not know many of the greatest Christians today because they are not famous preachers, but they are quietly influencing the world around them because they are taking the time to spend time with God in His word, in prayer and in corporate worship in church. You can be one of these Christians if you will take God’s advice: “Be still and know that I am God…” Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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