Be Still and Know – Part Two
From The HeartPublish date: 08/20/2006
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! 11 The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalms 46:10-11 NKJV
Be still and know that God is God! Acknowledge that He is the Creator and that He is over all the earth. Know that nothing or no one can be exalted over Him. He is Almighty God and the Mighty King; Ruler of everything. Be still and know that He is in control of your life. Be still and know that no one who fights against Him will be successful.
Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself--it tends only to evildoing. 9 For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait and hope and look for the Lord [in the end] shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more; though you look with care where they used to be, they will not be found. 11 But the meek [in the end] shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. 12 The wicked plot against the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright in right standing with God); they gnash at them with their teeth. 13 The Lord laughs at [the wicked], for He sees that their own day [of defeat] is coming. Psalms 37:7-13 AMP
God commands us to be still - it is not a suggestion. Be still and rest in the Lord. Being still requires a rest. Slow down your pace; slow down your body; slow down your mind. Wait for Him to do what He said He would do. This requires patience. Impatience tries to force God’s hand; impatience tries to make things happen, but patience trusts in God; patience steps back and allows God to take over the steering wheel. Being still and resting in God does not mean that we do nothing; it does not mean that we get out of the vehicle entirely; it means that we stay in the process, but we give God the control.
Some people like to be in control and they get angry when they feel like they are losing control. They get angry when they do not see results quickly enough or they get angry when they do not see the results they expect. Some people get angry when it looks like other people are getting the very things that they wanted. Some people get frustrated because it seems to them that the evildoers are rewarded and get what they want, while the righteous struggle. The devil will use envy and jealousy to frustrate you and cause you to take matters into your own hands. He knows that nothing will work out right for you if your motives are wrong.
God tells us to cease from anger and forsake wrath; He tells us not to fret and worry, because if we do, we will make the wrong decisions do wrong things. God reminds us that evil doers will be cut off – you won’t even be able to find them. However, the meek – those who wait and hope and look for the Lord shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked might plot against the righteous, but they will not succeed. God laughs at the wicked because He knows their day of defeat is coming! Therefore we can laugh too, because God is in charge and God is on our side!
So they read from the Book of the Law of God distinctly, faithfully amplifying and giving the sense so that [the people] understood the reading. 9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all of them, This day is holy to the Lord your God; mourn not nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then [Ezra] told them, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet drink, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold. 11 So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, Be still, for the day is holy. And do not be grieved and sad. 12 And all the people went their way to eat, drink, send portions, and make great rejoicing, for they had understood the words that were declared to them. Nehemiah 8:8-12 AMP
In Nehemiah, on the day God’s people celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, the priests told the people to “Be still!” because they were weeping and wailing. They told them, “Today is Holy – so rejoice and go enjoy yourselves!” An important part of “being still” and knowing that God is God is that we must take time to rejoice. Unless we cast our cares on God and stop worrying, we cannot laugh or rejoice. Laughter and joy can bring us to a place of resting in God that nothing else can. Having faith in God – being still in His presence and resting in Him - requires that we walk in God’s peace and also in His joy.