Welcome back to our exploration of Psalm 46. Last time, we examined the reality that God is our unshakeable refuge. Today, we're diving deeper into this powerful psalm to uncover the transformative command at its heart: "Be still."
"God is here and He is speaking—these truths are the most important we will ever learn. When we are still, silent, and waiting, God can speak to us and reveal His divine will. In the silence of the heart, God speaks."
–A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God.
Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
Picture a battlefield, chaos everywhere. Swords clashing, arrows flying, the mayhem of war all around. Now, imagine a voice so powerful it cuts through the noise, commanding everyone to freeze: "Be still!" This is the scene the psalmist paints for us.
The Hebrew phrase for "be still" is "raphah," which literally means to "let go" or "cease striving." It's a call to stop our frantic efforts, to cease our anxious toil, and to surrender our illusion of control. But this stillness isn't passive resignation; it's active trust.
Why does God call us to be still? So that we might "know" that He is God (v. 10). This isn't mere intellectual acknowledgment. The Hebrew word for "know" (yada) implies intimate, experiential knowledge. In the stillness, we don't just learn about God; we encounter Him.
Notice what follows this command: "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (v. 10). Our stillness and God's exaltation are intrinsically linked. When we cease our frantic activity and quiet our noisy hearts, we create space for God's glory to be revealed, not just in our lives, but "among the nations" and "in the earth."
This verse reminds us that our battles are ultimately not ours to win. Whether we're facing personal struggles, relational conflicts, or global crises, our first call is not to redouble our efforts, but to be still and remember who God is.
Friends, in a world that glorifies busyness and rewards constant activity, God invites us into a counterculture of holy stillness. It's in this stillness that we find not weakness, but strength; not inactivity, but alignment with the powerful King of the universe - God Himself.
When was the last time you were truly still before God? What did you experience in that stillness?
What areas of your life do you find it hardest to "cease striving" and trust God?
How can you intentionally create moments of stillness in your daily routine to "know" God more deeply?
In the stillness, I cease striving and start trusting, for it's there that I truly know He is God.
Stay dialed in,
Jonny Ardavanis