Be Still…Not Sit Still

Be still and know that I am God.  (Psalm 46:10)

I cannot tell you how many times my parents and teachers said to me, “Tommy, sit still” when I was growing up. I was always moving some part of my body, whether at the dinner table or at my desk in the classroom. In today’s verse we are commanded by God to “be still,” not “sit still,” and there is a world of difference between the two. Read on and be encouraged today!

When my parents and teachers told me to “Sit still,” it was because I was either being distracting or disruptive. But when God says, “Be still,” He is not rebuking us, but rather He is telling us to “Cease striving” and willingly submit to His sovereign control and course correction in our lives.

To be still is so much more than to merely cease all activity. Obviously, you can sit still and not even come close to being still. That was how I was as a child; I might be outwardly still under the watchful eye of a parent or teacher, but inwardly I was consumed by the need to be in motion again. As adults, we can be totally still on the outside, and still be completely restless on the inside, our minds racing, because we have not yet learned how to be still. We are so often busy being busy, and that is true even when we are sitting still. There is always something we are working on, planning for, or fretting over.

To be still and know that He is God is to surrender to His will even before you are in agreement with it. In fact, you may never be in complete agreement with God’s will, but to be still before the Lord is to trust and follow His will anyway, regardless of where it may lead.

We can only understand the first part of Psalm 46:10 when we understand the last part. To know God is to know the secret of being still. In the beginning of that psalm, the inspired author tells us, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2). To be still is to stop the frantic pace of working in our own strength because we are trusting in the strength of our Savior.

Remember, even if everything around you is coming apart at the seams (mountains falling into the heart of the sea), God is still in complete control of it all. God is orchestrating everything for His glory and your good, but you will never be able to live in that truth if all you do is sit still and do nothing. You must be still by surrendering every aspect of your life to God’s design, which will provide water to your thirsty soul and peace for your restless spirit. This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!