Be Still, and Know
A single line from the Psalms asks us to stop, and to trust that God is still at work when we are not.
The verse is short. "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalm 46:10, NIV).
The command to be still is not a suggestion to relax. In the psalm it arrives after images of mountains falling into the heart of the sea and nations in uproar. The stillness is asked for in the middle of trouble, not after it has passed. To be still here means to stop striving, to lower the hands that grasp and defend, and to let God be God.
The second half explains the first. We can be still because the outcome does not rest on us. God will be exalted among the nations and in the earth, whether or not we manage it. That is a heavy claim, and the psalm does not soften it.
For a reader who is tired, this verse offers an unusual kind of rest. It does not promise that the noise will end today. It promises that the noise is not the last word. You are allowed to put something down. Read the line slowly. Read it again. Then let the day carry on without you holding it up.
More in scripture
New Every Morning
A line from Lamentations holds steady when the days blur together.
New Every Morning
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Peace That Guards the Tired Mind
Paul’s words to the Philippians offer a practice for anxious days, not a demand to feel calm.
