“Be still and know that I am God!” Psalm 46:10
When I was in college, the residence director had this verse taped outside his door. Several times a day I read it as I walked by. At the time, I didn’t have many opportunities for being still. But all that repetition imprinted the words on my mind. Several years later they finally trickled their way down and were written on my heart.
Be still and know that I am God
I am the Creator and Ruler of the universe, the source of everything. I am all that you will ever need. I am love. I am kind. I am patient. I am just. I am mighty. I am the only Savior. There is no time when I have not been and there is no time when I will cease to be. Everything is under my power and authority and nothing escapes my notice. Rest in that. Take comfort in that. I will not change.
“You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God; there never has been and never will be.” Isaiah 43:10
Be still and know
It’s possible to know me. I want you to know me, as fully and completely as I know every fiber of your being. I want you to know without doubt. To be confident. Certain. I don’t expect you to build your life on wishful thinking or vague imaginings, but on a foundation of knowledge based on experience. I want you to be convinced that I love you, that my desires and intentions for you are good, so that you can rest assured that I will take care of you.
“If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me.” Jeremiah 29:13
Be still
Stop. Pause and consider who is your God. What can your God do? Is He the Lord, the only God? Is all heaven and earth His? Is anything too hard for Him? If the Lord is the one you’ve chosen as your God, then there’s no need for striving or worry. Sit quietly with Him, as a satisfied child is content on her mother’s lap.
“He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” Psalm 23:2-3
Be
I called you to life. I formed you and gave you physical life, with the desire of giving you so much beyond that. A full and complete life now. And life that overflows into more life to come. I want you to live! I want you to know constant, unchanging fullness forever – a “be-ing” that never ends.
“Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.” Genesis 2:7
When it comes down to it, all our be-ing stems from the fact that the Lord is God, the Creator and ruler of all the earth. If I want my be-ing to be good, then I need to know the One who gave me life in the first place. It’s more than just knowing about, it’s knowing through experience, through relationship. It’s basking in the love that He has for me. Resting in it. Being confidently certain that He is who He says He is and He will do what He has promised He will do.