February 22, 2016
Be Still
Read:
Psalm
46
Be
still, and know that I am God. — Psalm 46:10
Years ago I responded to letters within a couple of weeks and
kept my correspondents happy. Then came the fax machine, and they seemed
content with receiving a response within a couple of days. Today, with email,
instant messaging, and mobile phones, a response is expected the same day!
“Be still, and know that I am God.” In this familiar verse from
Psalm 46 I read two commands of equal importance. First, we must be still,
something that modern life conspires against. In this hectic, buzzing world,
even a few moments of quiet do not come naturally to us. And stillness prepares
us for the second command: “Know that I am God; I will be exalted among the
nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” In the midst of a world that colludes
to suppress, not exalt, God, how do I carve out time and allow Him to nourish
my inner life?
“Prayer,”
writes Patricia Hampl, “is a habit of attention brought to bear on all that
is.” Ah, prayer . . . a habit of attention. Be still and know. The first step
in prayer is to acknowledge or to “know” that God is God. And in that
attention, that focus, all else comes into focus. Prayer allows us to admit our
failures, weaknesses, and limitations to the One who responds to human
vulnerability with infinite mercy.
Dear Lord, help me to be still. Nourish my soul
as I spend time with You in prayer.
In prayer, God can quiet our minds.
INSIGHT:
Today’s scripture passage ends with one of
the most well-known and beloved phrases in the Bible: “Be still, and know that
I am God” (v. 10). The Hebrew word translated “be still” can also be translated
“become helpless,” “collapse,” “cease,” “fall limp,” and “relax.” The sense is
to stop striving. So Psalm 46 could be translated, “Relax, and know that I am
God.” Transformation, deliverance, and resurrection are all works of God; we
just need to relax and acknowledge who He is.
Source: Our Daily Bread 2016