Be Still

How many of you are busy in life? No, really you don’t have to be humble here; so busy if you stop and think about it you are almost at war with busy. I got to tell you I am so busy that I am having trouble finding my shalom.

I just love that word – I always thought it just meant peace, but it means so much more. Strong’s defines it as completeness, wholeness, peace, tranquility, harmony, rest. I am troubled deep in my soul; I can’t find my shalom. Maybe this is a time of testing for me so I have been praying about this lack of shalom that is within me and feel I have been lead to Psalm 46.

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields [b] with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

John Piper in a sermon on Psalm 46 talks about success vs. significance and how in our society we seem to be truly focused on success alone and by doing this we can miss out on some very significant things and live our lives in insignificant ways. Just to read a portion of the sermon;

“One of the reasons we invest our lives in some insignificant ways is that we never become still enough to let the great realities hit us. We are always on the move. Always in a hurry. Or when we do stop, we flip on the radio or the TV and let somebody else's hurry fill our minds.

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still [or cease striving, cease hurrying, be still, be quiet] and know that I am God. I am [or: will be, it's probably a promise] exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

What that text says is that the life-revolutionizing impact of God's supremacy in the world and his inevitable triumph over the nations, and the coming of his glorious kingdom of righteousness and peace—the impact of this awesome reality doesn't hit us and hold us and shape us unless we become still, and quiet before God. GOD hits home in the stillness. If you want your life to be significant, you've got to stop running, and stop scurrying about, and turn off the TV and the radio, and get alone, and be quiet, and let the mammoth realities of human lostness and eternal judgment and never-ending joy and God's universal triumph take hold of you and change your life. “

I also read an article written by John Killinger discussing this passage and he writes;

“"Be still," says the Lord in that magnificent psalm, number 46. "Be still, and know that I am God." It's a beautiful thought—and it skewers me. I mean, how often am I still? Truly still. Quiet in body and serene in soul. That isn't the modern way, is it?

We live in the most frenetic culture that ever was. Radios and TVs blaring. Cell phones interrupting our meals. Blackberries in everybody's pockets. Traffic up to our kazoos. Construction sites all around us. Bells and whistles on all our appliances. And, as if that weren't enough: pagers, alarm clocks, talking calendars, even timers on our pill boxes.

I saw a cartoon that showed a family setting up camp in the woods. They had brought their TV set, camera phones, video games, and a box full of other electronic devices. "It's a good thing we've got this stuff," one of the kids is saying, "or we couldn't shut out the noise of that stream and the waterfall!"

"Be still, and know that I am God." That's a tough order in a world like this.

We almost forget that there is another world, don't we? A world of silence and serenity. A world of deep peace and soulfulness. A world of quiet healing, where our wounds are repaired and life grows over the broken places. A world of holiness and order, of mystery and transcendence. A world with God at its center.”

You know if we look at the context of Psalm 46, it is a context of war and trouble, yet as we bring this Psalm forward I really believe it can relate to the busyness in our lives. As we move forward I specifically want to focus on verse 10 and if we look at verse 10, it literally says cease striving and know that I am God. It is not a command to do nothing, but a command to quit the busyness and know that God is God, to cease striving for things and about things to stop scurrying about and truly connect with God. Craig Brolyes; a professor of religious studies at Trinity Western University wrote a commentary on the Psalms and about verse 10 he said; “This is not an invitation to tranquil meditation but an explosive command to allow God to be God!”

So what would it look like to be still and know God is God? I found a verse in Psalm 4:4 that might help;

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. KJV

This thought/phrase stand in awe is in Hebrew the word Ragaz meaning to tremble, quake, quiver, be excited, be amazed! As we connect with God let us stand in awe!

Commune comes from the word - Amar – to say in one’s heart; speak, declare, promise. As we stand in awe let us commune with God in heart talk!

And finally the phrase Be still comes from the word Daman meaning to be still and silent – really meaning to eliminate the busyness, distractions and noise of life as we stand in awe and commune with God!

Father God, we thank you that you are God. Father, forgive me my busyness, my lack of stillness before you and as we move out in this life help each of us to do so in Peace, help us to be still and we pray for great calm. Father, we pray for a time for each of us to connect, really connect to commune with you as your children. Father, we pray these things in Jesus most holy name. Amen!

Grace and Peace!