Be Still, and Know
A single line from Psalm 46 asks us to stop long enough to remember who holds the world.
The psalm reads: "He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'" That is Psalm 46, verse 10.
To be still here does not mean to feel calm. It means to stop striving. The verse arrives after lines about mountains falling into the sea and nations in uproar. Into that noise comes a command to cease. Rest is not offered as a reward. It is given as an instruction.
The command carries a reason. We are told to be still because of who God is, not because the trouble has passed. The stillness comes first. Understanding follows it.
Many readers return to this verse when they are tired. It asks little of them. Stop for a moment. Set down the work of holding everything together. The second half of the verse widens the view from one weary person to the whole earth. The same God spoken of in the quiet is the God exalted among the nations.
Read it slowly today. Let the first three words do their work before you move on.
More in scripture
New Every Morning
A line from Lamentations holds steady when the days blur together.
New Every Morning
Lamentations offers mercy that resets with the dawn.
Peace That Guards the Tired Mind
Paul’s words to the Philippians offer a practice for anxious days, not a demand to feel calm.
