-Written By Larry Grine (Member and Community Group Host)-
These have been days of confusion, unrest and disconnection in our nation and in our hearts. It seems like just when everything is starting to get back to normal, we’ve all begun to wonder what the new normal may be. So much seems uncertain. This is a great time to draw close to God.
Many of us are familiar with the phrase, “Be still and know I am God.” It is found in Psalm 46 and I referred to in my last blog on the value of silence and solitude. As Hans likes to remind us, we need to read individual verses of the Bible in their context in order to accurately apply them. So let’s take a look at this whole Psalm in order to more fully understand this key verse and experience its impact. My prayer is that in this blog you will find additional reasons and stronger motivation to relax in God’s presence, rely on his providential care and trust in his sovereign rule, even during the current upheaval.
When difficult circumstances threaten to crush us, we wonder if God cares or if he has abandoned us. During the last few months, you may have been tempted to think of God as aloof and unmoved by your situation, but Psalm 46 clearly communicates that God is with us. It describes trusting in God’s promised presence even through upheaval and catastrophe. Let’s look at it, verse by verse:
1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
As a result of God’s nature and character, he provides security and strength. He guarantees his presence and this means you always have help available. We need to accept this reality by faith. We aren’t alone. God wants us to grasp that he is with us and that he is able to handle anything and anyone. Do you feel like you’re facing imposing fears alone? When life seems to be caving in, we feel threatened. And when what you’ve relied on is shaken, insecurity is a natural result. You may feel like you have nowhere to turn. There’s an antidote to this debilitating depression. The answer to anxiety is the simple faith that God really is “our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” When it seems like we are on our own facing life’s many troubles, we have a choice to make. We can feel vulnerable and insecure or we can choose to relax in God’s presence. It is our choice.
Read on. 2 “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
These second and third verses tell us what is true for us based on the comforting proclamation in the first verse. They eloquently depict upheaval on an enormous scale. Mountains aren’t even staying put; the ocean is ominous. Nothing remains unchanged. The things we once relied on are now unstable. Picture the kind of cataclysm that would cause Mt. Hood to drop into the ocean west of Astoria. How do we react when our world is coming apart? This Psalm encourages us to fear not, despite the danger. Why? What can give us this confidence? God’s promised presence! Even when nothing seems solid, God still is. Even when everything is shaking, we find stability in him.
The presence of the word, “Selah” here in the text probably tells us to pause and ponder; some scholars think it might have even called for a musical interlude.
Now the scene shifts from the mayhem of a surging sea to a placid, smooth water way. 4 “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” There is something wonderful about flowing water. The river described here is clear, cool, fresh, sustaining, cleansing, and life-giving. The wording of these verses paints a picture of peace. Again, notice the emphasis on God’s presence and power. He is the source of strength.
The next verse speaks of God’s sovereign power. 6 “Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.” Here the psalm depicts yet more cataclysmic upheaval: nations are in uproar, kingdoms are falling, and the earth is melting. What’s going on? Earthquakes and volcanoes - is this hyperbole? No, people in crisis feel this way - like their world is coming apart at the seams. What do you do when things go wrong? It is easy to feel overwhelmed by what surrounds us. The natural thing is to look intently at all that is wrong and get depressed. I can do this, especially in response to the news. The pervasive international turmoil, national strife and the escalating erosion of morality are not just discouraging, but threatening. Who would have guessed nine months ago that we would be confined to our homes through the spring and into the summer? No one was thinking even a few months ago about how divided our country would become and how the economy would be destabilized. All these rapid changes can make us worry about what kind of world will be left for our kids and grandkids.
We can be anxious about the past, the present and the future. The past and the future are the biggest causes of concern and how we view them can ruin our present reality. When we focus on our past, we say: If only! If only I had done this! If only I had not done that! When we focus on disappointments, they grow larger with every passing year. And when we worry about the future, we say: What if? What if this happens? What if that happens? Preoccupation with all that could go wrong in the future will rob us of any joy and peace in the present. Focusing on problems blinds us to the ultimate solution, which is to see God by faith as the one who will care for us.
Verse 7 restates just what we desperately need to grasp: “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” He’s our shield, our hiding place. He offers protection when we feel outnumbered and overwhelmed. Even when it seems like everything is working against us, God reminds us that he is with us. What a truth! Again, the inclusion of “Selah” in the text allows us a moment to stop and think about this: God is with you. He is your secure stronghold. You are safe.
As our world continues to experience turmoil, we can focus on what is wrong or on the only one who can make it right. Here is what I want you to grasp from this Psalm: When it seems like everything is falling apart we can do one of two things: we can feel overwhelmed by our uncertain circumstances or we can choose to rely on God’s presence and providential care.
Consider how God intervenes and steps into our situation. 8 “Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” God is not absent, lost, or confused. He is still here and he will wrap things up. We don’t know his timetable but we can be assured that he has not abandoned us. We don’t have to be anxious; we can trust in him for he is trustworthy. Don’t fret. There is an old saying: “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future.” That is God! This whole Psalm is all about God himself. He is the main character.
Usually this phrase, be still, is understood as a command to quiet down, but the idea of being quiet isn’t what the Hebrew word primarily means. The idea it conveys is to hang limp, to be feeble, as when a muscle is unable to flex and apply force. My handy Hebrew dictionary defines the command “to be in a state of lacking power or force, and so respond to a situation.” To paraphrase, give in, stop fighting, let it be, relax the tension. The very accurate NASB translates the phrase, “Cease striving.”
Picture yourself frantically and needlessly treading water. When it seems like we have no control, we can engage in frenetic, unproductive activity or we can choose to trust in God’s sovereign rule. If you keep thrashing you’ll miss out on getting deep with God. We can be so busy for God that we forgo the time needed to be with him. Unless you are discontent with the superficial shallows, you will remain on the surface, too scared to get in over your head into the depths. We need to stop acting like we can save ourselves and dive headlong into God.
The Psalm closes with one more reminder of God’s presence and how he provides us with stability. 11 “The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.” Being still before God leads to stability. When you take the plunge and deeply trust that God is really with you, you can finally relax, knowing the future does not rely only on you.
I’ve had friends face Job-like personal problems. They’ve shared about how it is actually easier to trust God when ten things are out of control that when only one thing is going wrong. When your whole earth is shaken, you can’t pretend you can solve the situation. Facing an onslaught, you have to admit that you can’t do it on our own. Like in 2 Chron. 20:12 when Jehoshaphat is leading a public prayer before the people of Judah: “We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”
When I pray for people facing such overwhelming odds, I am drawn to Phil. 4:6,7, where we see a reminder that peace is a byproduct of prayer. Don’t miss out on the peace available by refusing to lay your concerns before God and trust him. Is. 30:15 – “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” Why would people have none of it? Because letting go and trusting God is tough. It takes faith that God is really with you. Security, even in uncertain times, is available for those who will be still and know that he is God.
Psalm 46 reminds us that God doesn’t disappear when things get rough. He stays with us. We’re told to be still before God, yet so many of us grasp for control when our circumstances seem out of control. When threatened, we scramble and try anything we can. As we sense things slipping away, we tighten our grip. When we feel like we’re getting behind, we pick up the pace. We think more is necessarily better, so we take matters into our own hands. We try to balance more than we can handle, like jugglers, feverishly trying to keep all the balls in the air without dropping any of them. The problem is that our circumstances don’t just seem to be impossible, they are impossible; only God can handle such situations.
When everything seems up in the air and life appears out of our control, God still holds it all. Nothing escapes his notice. He sees all we face from his eternal vantage point. He was there before the beginning and he will be there after the end. We may do this and that in our futile attempts to intervene and determine the future, but God is the only one with real power. This whole Psalm provides a picture of God’s sovereignty. He is the one in control. He rules from on high. Though it all looks chaotic right now, God will be exalted. He rules. He reigns as Sovereign of all. He will bring this whole world to its climatic end.
At the opening of my last blog I suggested we all use the time we’ve had alone at home to invest deeper time with God. In this blog we’ve concentrated on Psalm 46 and learned more about trusting God to be with us and provide security.
Here are some specific steps to implement:
You can learn to relax in God’s presence by getting alone and being still. Find a quiet place and remain there with God in the silence for 15 minutes at time. Try this a few times this week or even daily. Meditate on this Psalm.
Another way you can begin to rely on God’s providential care is to stop saying, “if only.” Lay your regrets at the feet of God. He can handle your past. He can free you from lingering guilt over sins that are already forgiven. Dig deep inside then pour it all out. 1 Peter 5:7 provides this reminder: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
And a way to grow in trusting God’s sovereignty is to let go of something you’ve been trying to grasp and control. Believe that the situation is in God’s hands and let it go. Knowing he is God, you can trust him with any worry about your future. Remember, to be still means to stop flexing and hang limp. We’re told to “Cease striving and know…” You won’t ever know God as you could until you learn to be still.
One last thing, readers may wonder if the author really needs to experience God as he is revealed in this Psalm. They answer is yes. Just as I was editing this lesson, my father died. Then we learned that one of our family members who was supposed to travel down to the San Diego area with us to support my mom and gather for a memorial tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and can’t join us. We are actively choosing to see God as he is: “our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.