Be Still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

In recent weeks the Lord has been teaching me about humility. I am someone who likes to be in control of every situation. I like to know everything that is going on. I like to think that I know what is going on, but this is in fact not the case. I was always a very independent person and but I knew that at some point I had to surrender to the will of God. Something I still find difficult to do.

Last night I was going out with a group of people to go street witnessing, and while I was out, I asked God to still me and help me to hear what he wanted of me. The most amazing thing happened, the Lord directed me to a guy who needed someone to talk to. Because I had surrendered to what God wanted me to do, I was directed down an alley I never even knew existed. When I thought about what had happened and what I had prayed, I thought about the verse in Psalm 46.

This verse is the climax of the psalm, previous to this the Psalmist is proclaiming the awesomeness of God and his presence. And then he says “be still and know that I am God.” In this passage the term be still comes from a Hebrew word rapha which means be weak, let go or release. So be still could be better translated let go and know that I am God. But to what extent do we have to let go, or surrender? Well in this sentence the emphasis is not on the being still but on the knowing.  The main point is the fact that once we let go or surrender we see the all sufficient, all providing power. Once we give up wanting to be in charge and realise or begin to know the saving power of God and his all sufficient provision.

In Exodus 14:14 Moses reminds the people, “The Lord will fight for you, and you only have to be silent.” He is telling them that they must only rely on the lord to fight, and be silent. He is telling them that they need to be strong in their trust of the Lord. So when we surrender and let God and know God, then we will be able to say as the psalmist wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1)

Let us learn to give our all, to surrender all so that we can rejoice in the provision to be in a perfect relationship with God and to be able to say that he is our father, carer and refuge in times of trouble. May we remember the greatest provision through the once for all sacrifice of Christ and the defeat of death as the Son Rose on the third day. Praise his name and happy resurrection week.