Gleaning From The Walls

The best way to improve our recognition of God’s work in our lives is to tune the world out.  The Lord Himself exhorts us to do this very thing in Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God”.

Our minds are often aloft with our own thoughts – our passions, our visions, our varied busy lives.  The tumults and irritations of the world will sometimes set our minds toward thoughts of despair and hopelessness.

Because of this, we cannot always understand where we are going or what our duty from God’s perspective is – we are distracted from that which is most necessary for God’s good people to live the way He wants and to perform that which He requires.

Occasionally and regularly, it is a good thing for us, as Christians, to gather in our straying thoughts, those passions, visions, and irritations that are so distracting and, with a humble heart, direct our attentions and observations to our Creator.  To say He is all deserving of this attention would be a gross understatement.

Whether we choose to seek to know God or not, He says: “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (v. 10).  This is not contingent on our agreeing with Him.  So, would it not just make good sense to join in this exaltation of our precious Lord?

The Lord’s exhortation, “be still and know that I am God”, is one for our good. God is God!  He is living, and He is working.  Therefore, it is only to our great benefit to know Him.  Additionally, since He is omnipotent, the vast amount of knowledge required to know all of Him is an almost unfathomable concept.  Nevertheless, we are still encouraged; no, we are commanded, to do so.  It is our solemn duty to do so!

What does it mean when God’s own are commanded to “be still”?  Sadly, there are those who are far from “being still”.  They “do all their work by the sweat of their own brow” and attribute little or no credit to God.  They believe that by “lifting up their hands” and by “taking courage,” they can survive and thrive by sheer will, having little dependence on God.

Those who are disheartened are commanded to take courage and admonished to fulfill their duties.  However, while we must take the initiative to fulfill our responsibilities and live our lives, we are constantly challenged as we live in a sinful, decaying world.  Personal initiative is no substitute for reliance upon the Lord (James 4:13-17).

This command “be still” forces us to think on two things: that we are finite, and that God is infinite.  That being the case, we need to drop our hands, go limp, relax, chill out, and “be still”!  Christian people ought to cease from “things” often and behold the works of Jehovah, and enjoy our confidence in and dependence upon Him (v.8) who gave us his Son.

~ Gerrie