Be Still and Know that He is God
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 (NJKV)
We are busy people. Our minds and bodies are always occupied with or by something that may be important in its own way; an assignment we need to get done, a meeting we have to attend, money we need to acquire. But in the midst of the busyness we forget to come away and seek God.
It is so important to stop and find moments in which we can be still before the Lord and remember who He is- God; God above our work, God above our money and God above our lives. Life has slowed down considerably with the current COVID19 situation; whilst some work is being done it is nowhere near as rushed and hectic as it used to be. We should use this as an opportunity to do the same, slow down; be still and know that He is God.
How to Be Still
I suppose the first question being asked is “How do I be still?” Well there are two parts to it, you can be physically still and you can be mentally still.
Physically Still
To be physically still before God means stopping everything, putting aside your laptop, your files, your cooking spoon and just sitting with the Lord. You don’t have to do this for hours, ten to thirty minutes will do. It just needs to be a block of time you set aside to spend time doing what you usually don’t have time for- reading and meditating on the Word; praising God.
The significance of being physically still before God is that you are showing Him that you value Him above your everyday tasks, that you are able to step away from them and put Him first, where He deserves to be. In Psalm 46 it says “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” As Christians we should be exalting Him in our nations and on the earth, not only in our speech but in our actions as well. Our lives should be testimony to the fact the God is exalted above all things in our life. This is one way we can show that.
Now I am aware that people can’t always set aside time to sit and read, so you can just do this when the opportunity arises. Meanwhile, the other option is to find time to be mentally still before God, and this you can do far more often because it doesn’t require you to stop your daily activities.
Mentally Still
As I mentioned before, our minds, like our lives are very busy. They are always occupied by thoughts and worries and wonderings and very rarely are they ever still and at peace. It’s no wonder when we are filling them with everything but the things of the spirit and of God, which are the only things that can offer us peace. (Isaiah 26:3, Roman 8:6)
Unlike with physical stillness, mental stillness can take place anywhere and anytime. All it requires of you is to shift your mental focus. Philippians 4:6-8 tells us exactly how we can do this. First of all we must not let ourselves be anxious for anything; we should present all our requests to God with thanksgiving. We are to meditate on pure, lovely, noble and virtuous thing, when we do this the peace of God will be with us and it will guard our hearts and minds.
As you can see, to be mentally still means we need to stop worrying about our lives (Matthew 6:31) and trust that God is who He says He is, the God who will provide (Genesis 22:14) and the one who will supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19).
So instead of giving our attention to the anxieties of this life, we must still our minds by fixing them on God. We must surrender our worries to Him and magnify Him within our minds, in every moment of everyday.
Know He is God
Finally, as you practice these things and make a habit of stilling yourself before God. Take time to know God by meditating on scriptures that tell us who He is. He is the God who fashioned the heavens, He named the stars (Psalm 147:4) and the heavens declare His glory (Psalm 19:1), nothing in all the earth can be compared to Him. He is good (Psalm 119:68) and merciful and full of loving kindness. (Psalm 25:6) All things, including ourselves, were created by and for God (Colossians 1:16), that means in all we do we must glorify and exalt Him. What better way to do this than to give Him priority in our lives by stilling ourselves before Him?
Yes, life must go on and work must be done but we must remember why we are doing all of this in the first place – for God. I pray you remember this and make more time in your life to still your mind and body and know God. I pray that you make more time to exalt Him in your life and remember the most vital thing of all- He is God forever. Amen.
