This is a very popular verse from the old testament of the bible, and one of the most misunderstood. “Be still and know that I am God.” So many people think it means to just relax because who God is and have no worries. God’s people are always safe no matter what earthly turmoil they might be going through. This is one meaning for sure, but if you want to really learn a deeper meaning to this bible scripture and gain the knowledge that God wants you to have to become one with the power and glory of the lord, then let’s take a more holistic and esoteric study of the meaning for this word of God.
A look at Psalm 46 in its entirety needs to be looked at first to get an accurate meaning:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”
It’s very important to note that starting at verse 10 it changes from God in the 3rd person to God in the 1st person. God is giving us a direct command with verse 10. So its important to understand.
There are some great commentaries by the likes of John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, and other modern day scholars and evangelists. They generally say that the meaning is to bow to His ways (46:10). He is God. The command to cease striving is God speaking to the nations who are fighting against His people and His purpose. ‘You won’t win, so quit while you can!’ But we can also apply it to ourselves. When trouble hits, don’t strive against God. Know that He is the sovereign God, even over your crisis. As God, He will be exalted and glorified in the earth. He wants you to exalt Him by submitting joyfully to Him through your trouble. The chief end of man is not to live a happy, trouble-free life. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We glorify Him when we defer to Him as our ruler in times of trouble.”
OK. You get that so far. But let us look further. “Be still” is the same thing that Jesus says to the wind and the waves in Mark 4:39. “When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. The wind and the sea completely died down in silence, in awe and worship of the Creator. The call to all is to be still before our holy, awesome, and glorious God.” This whole story of the Jesus sleeping in the bow of the ship while a horrendous storm brews with huge waves is a lesson to learn from Psalm 46:10. And when is it that they go and wake up Jesus? It is when they get to the point that they think the ship will capsize and they will die. You see the metaphor here. We all do the same thing. Only in a dire crisis, like cancer, divorce, etc. this is when we go and wake up Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit. The scripture is telling us to be still and know that I am God. How do we do that? How do we be still? You see, if we can do that then the turmoil/crisis in our life will die down, just like the sea did in Mark 4.
If Christ is already within you, and you want to experience Christ, stop. Get still. Be still. And abide in that stillness, that silence.
I always look to the bible for answers. God’s own word; our guide book.
Psalm 119:15
I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.
Joshua 1:8
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Luke 5:16
But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
It is in the new testament, several times, when Jesus would go, all by himself, to the woods, on a mountain, anywhere secluded and just pray. When Jesus prayed what was he doing. He was communicating/praying and creating his intimacy with God. So Jesus went, like most people like to go shopping, Jesus liked to go to secluded places and communicate (prayed – meditated) with God. Why secluded places? The answer is “TO BE STILL/SILENCE.” It right there so many times in the bible. Jesus is teaching it to us, yet so many are still so blind. GO AWAY FROM THE WORLD AND BE WITH THE FATHER. This must become part of your everyday life. Learn from Jesus. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. It is everywhere in the Gospels; an important theme. It is how Jesus dealt with demands, grief, made decisions. It is how he prepared for his death. This is an inner revelation of your mind, which comes through disciplined practice of regaining control of the mind over the lower emotions, which culminates in the developing of the higher emotions, or the Holy Spirit which brings truth and wisdom to the whole being. That is the true mystical marriage and union of the higher and lower mind, in Christ – the Holy matrimony of Christ and the bridegroom (us, the church, the mind).
So, Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God,” is a direct command from God. A lot of Christians have faith, but lack in abiding to God’s commandments. His commandments are crucial to finding the true path of salvation, to becoming one with Christ. For those who understand it, and I hope you do now, then it’s another teaching, taught by Jesus himself, to find your personal path to having “the light of life.”
May God bless each and every one of you,
Del
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