Psalm 46.10
There are two commands in Psalm 46.10. For the healthy, Christ-honoring heart and mind and life, these two commands exist side by side — they are the railroad tracks on which wisdom proceeds.
The first command is this: ”Be still.” That’s it. Be still. While everything in life is commanding you to justify yourself with busyness, God commands you to be still.
A journalist once asked Thomas Merton to diagnose the leading spiritual disease of our time. Merton was a wise monk who wrote lots of profound things about spirituality and Christian living… though his overall theology was often flawed because of his Roman Catholicism. But he was a wise “spiritual director” in many ways, nonetheless. So, the question came: “What is the leading spiritual disease of our time?” Merton responded with one word: ”Efficiency.”
When asked to explain, he said this: ”From the monastery to the Pentagon, the plant has to run… and there is little time or energy left over after that to do anything else.”
Everything in the world (literally) conspires against being “still” before God. Philip Yancey: ”Ten years ago I responded to letters within a couple of weeks and kept my correspondents happy. Five years ago I faxed a response in a couple of days and they seemed content. Now they want email responses the same day and berate me for not using instant messaging or a mobile phone.”
We are a people who are very intent on “doing.” Our God calls us to rest from our hectic “doing” and put some emphasis on “being.” Be still. Carve out time to be still before God and seek his nourishment and strength through the means of grace. Focus on the love of God in Christ as the center of your solar system and watch as all the planetary responsibilities and obligations fall back into their proper order, alignment, and orbit.
The second command from Psalm 46.10: ”…and know that I am God.” The rest of the verse goes on to say: “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
In a world in which everything is angling to suppress God — rather than exalt him — we must “be still” to “know that [He] is God.” Otherwise we’ll spend our lives buzzing around at the beck and call of a bunch of other tyrannical gods who will never give us rest. Otherwise, we end up exalting ourselves as god.
Take a break from being god. Let God be God. Take a few moments away from all the important things and pressing activities and urgent chores that we have to do in our capacity as god — the things that so often deceive us into thinking that the “other God” has to be quickly shoehorned into our schedules (maybe). Be still and know that He is God. Rest. Worship. Pray. Enjoy. Praise. Sing. Repent. Believe. Read Scripture. Receive. Feast.
Sin & death began with two people who tried to make themselves god. It’s the same old story.
“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