Be Still And Know

By Stewart Whittemore

Be Still And Know
Psalms 46:10-11
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 refuge. Selah
NKJV

Do you remember that old adage "Stop, Look and Listen"? It was good advice before we ventured out, especially before crossing railroad tracks or a busy intersection. Our God has a similar command, but it is much more profound in its meaning. He says, "Be still, and know that I am God;..."

Just what does "be(ing) still and know(ing) God" really mean? I have wondered about that lately because I have felt that there are things our Lord wants to convey to me, but I am not hearing Him.

This was really brought home to me the other day when I was talking on the phone to a dear old high school friend of mine about some issues she was dealing with in her life. As she was talking, some insight came across my mind that I wanted to share that might help her, but she wouldn't stop talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise. It was during this frustrating moment that I seemed to hear our Lord say to me, "Do you see what I mean?"

That experience got me to pay more attention to what God was saying through His Word. Recently I heard some things in the Gospel of Luke that I believe can help us to understand what "being still and knowing God" means.

In Luke 10:38-42, when Jesus was visiting Martha and her sister Mary, Martha complained to Jesus that she was doing all the serving while Mary was sitting at His feet. But "...Jesus answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her"' (Luke 10:41-42 NKJV).

We see from these passages that, First, we have to "be still" if we want to know God. Mary shows us that example by being at Jesus' feet to hear His word. In other words, we must cause ourselves to be totally focused on the Lord because, as Jesus said, it "is needed". Mary was not praying or talking, but intently listening. One will also notice there was a lot of busyness going on around Mary, but she was not distracted. Mary was being still even with all that commotion. This is a good lesson for us to remember because we will not always be in a nice quiet and secluded place and/or at a convenient time when we especially need to hear from God.

Second, Mary "heard His word." She was hearing straight from the Master, not hearing Him through others. Not that hearing God's messages through others is bad, because He does communicate to us through our pastors, for example. But we must be into reading the Bible ourselves, if we want to hear from God directly. Sermons are great and commentaries are very insightful and helpful, but they should never be a substitute for our own time in God's Word to hear from our Lord firsthand.

Third, we can also see from Jesus' answer to Martha that, because Mary had "chosen" to be with Him, that precious time with our Savior would "not be taken away from her." The key here is that when we make a conscious decision to be with God, He will make sure that time is not taken away from us. Remember, Martha was trying to get her sister away from Jesus to serve with her (as noble as that may seem), but Jesus would not let that happen. Our relationship with Jesus is much more important than any tasks. Therefore, we can be sure He will not let our time with Him be taken away either, if we chose to be with Him.

Summarizing then, we can see from this that choosing God to be first and foremost in our lives is a prerequisite in order for us to "be still and know that (He) is God;..." Therefore, let us "be still" today, even if it is in our most difficult of times (see Psalm 46), because we know that Jesus will keep that time with Him from being "taken away" from us. And He has all the answers!

As Jesus said; "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33 NKJV). Again, Jesus emphasizes in this verse for us to keep God first in our lives. When we do, not only will our time with Jesus be protected because we are choosing to be with Him, but we can be assured that our needs will also be met. What a beautiful promise! No wonder our Lord God is also known as "Wonderful".

Have a Jesus filled month!