Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
“Sit STILL,Tommy!” I believe I heard that phrase more than any other during my early elementary school days. I had a difficult time staying in my seat, and even when I was sitting down, I was fidgeting much of the time. So when I first encountered today’s verse, I assumed God was telling me to “Sit still,” not “BE still” . . . and there is a world of Gospel difference between the two.
Today I understand how I drove my teachers a bit crazy, because I was in constant motion throughout the school day. I’m sure there were times when I was a distraction to them and to the other students. But when it comes to my relationship with God, I am never a distraction in His cosmic classroom. I never frustrate Him, and He never grows impatient with me, no matter how much my fidgeting interferes with my focus. But because I am His child, and He sees how distracted I can become, He reminds me to “Be still.”
God was instructing the psalmist then–and you and me today–to rest in the redemption He has provided for us, no matter what is going on around us. Psalm 46:10 is a command to trust God even when we cannot trace Him. To know that God is in complete control of everything that is going on in every aspect of our lives is to “know that I am God.” Because our God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, we can surrender to His plan and purpose for our lives, because He knows exactly what He is doing all the time, and He is working all things for our good, even when we cannot understand any of it.
In some ways, I haven’t changed much from my childhood; I still have trouble sitting still. But I am growing in my ability to be still before the Lord, no matter what is going on in life. Knowing that there is indeed a God — and that I am not Him — has been the key to being still . . . even when I am not sitting still.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 