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. (Psalm 46:8-11 ESV).
Over the last three years I have been in the hospital with a stay of a day or two while recuperating from heart procedures. The first three times was for the placement of stents to open closed arteries; and, the last was for the placement of a device to close an appendage of the Left Atrial chamber of my heart. All of the procedures have proven to be successful, though I continue to need monitoring and follow-ups on a regular schedule. During those overnight stays I was alone in the room, though nurses did come in regularly to take vitals and check the monitors. During that time I found it difficult to sleep. So, with a little “hospital music” playing in the background, I decided it was a great time to simply be still and listen more intently for the Lord’s voice.
When we ask children to be still, our goal is that they stop talking or crying and listen to what we have to say. Sometimes we must stand and shout this with authority, and other times we can just cradle them with a gentle “Shush.” In this psalm, God is using both an outdoor voice and an indoor voice to assure his children that there is nothing too big for Him to handle. We need not be afraid, regardless of the surrounding chaos, because God is right there with us in times of trouble. He both lifts his voice above the uproar (v. 6) and draws us close with the quiet whisper “Be still, my child; I am here.”
There are days when the pain level of our suffering is so high, the disappointment so deep, and the fear so crippling that we can lose sight of the God who is our refuge and strength. Desperation can drive us away from God, and we can find ourselves craving his strength and presence along with his intimate words of assurance. When Jesus’ disciples cried out to him in the midst of a raging storm, Jesus stood up, rebuked the wind, and told the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”—and all was calm (cf. Mark 4:39).
Pause for a moment, and hear him inviting you into the stillness of God’s presence. It has worked for me. I am certain it will work for you.