The Struggle to be Still

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Life has seasons. As the writer of Ecclesiastes reasons, there are periods in life when we inevitably focus on different activates. He rightly states, there is “a time to tear down and a time to build,” and “a time to be silent and a time to speak.” Presently, I am in a season of both building and speaking; life is full and every day there is more to do than I can possibly accomplish. As I finish building the Look4God website, and begin to “speak” in the form of preaching, teaching, and blogging, I increasingly realize my need to heed Psalm 46—to learn to practice the presence of God by being still and knowing that He is God, and I am not. Yet, it is a struggle to be still.

What does it mean to “be still” in the midst of life’s activities and how does this help me to “know God” more fully? In this Psalm, the command to be still and know God is predicated by the acclaims about God in the previous versus. In Psalm 46:1-9 we read that God is present and in control of Cosmic troubles; God in control of judging the nations; and God is the One who will ultimately establish His kingdom on earth. This is the true God. The God who is “our refuge and strength in times of trouble.” The God who is “for us” (repeated threefold) and “with us” (repeated twice), especially when we go through difficult seasons.

The ability for each of us to “be still and know that God is God” arises through God’s internal guidance through the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s still, small voice resonates from deep within and helps us make choices that influence our thinking, building, and speaking. The command to “be still,” is not a justification for indifference or apathy. Although we are to reserve quite time with God for Bible reading and prayer in order to get to know God and His will for our lives and to gain the power to follow His will, we can “be still” even in times of action. As we increasingly realize that God is our strength, our source of wisdom and knowledge, and our ever-present help in seasons of trouble, we can remain calm and focused in life’s challenging seasons and rely on His strength instead of our own to accomplish the tasks He has “prepared in advance” for us to do (Eph. 2:10).

And so I pray that today, tomorrow, and forever more we each learn to rely on God, be still, and know that God is God. May we have peace knowing that one His name will be exalted on earth and among the nations, forever.

For now, “He says, be still and know that I am God.”   And so I will continue to struggle to be still.