Be Still and Know | Psalm 46

This year, like most, my family is raising a garden.  Actually, we're raising at least three gardens.  It turned out that our main garden didn't have enough room for my brother's giant pumpkins, so that got its own plot.  And then the cabbage, melons, and garlic were moved to their own plot.  Basically, our family is raising a lot of gardens and vegetables and berries and fruit.  

The green beans are starting to twirl their vines upward, and we're beginning to find the baby cucumbers and tomatoes.  Yet for a while we were in a slow spot.  We planted the seeds, watered the ground, and waited.  And we wondered if we would ever be able to finally hold our produce in our hands.

Naturally, I've become impatient.  I busily spend my time and glance occasionally at the garden, wondering if it will actually ever be fruitful.

But my brother is different.  Every spare moment, I see him walking through his pumpkins.  He kneels to touch every minuscule plant, to know when to pollinate every flower.  He knows which fruit is budding and is ready with a hoe to attack the sharp weeds that press up on each side.

We've both worked in the garden, but there's a difference.  I'll do the hard work, but I won't sit still and wait patiently for the results.

He's tuned to the condition of his gardens, while I'm not.  And it makes me wonder if our spiritual lives are ever like that.

So often, I find myself rushing through life.  My eyes turn from one activity to the next.  I want to do hard things for Jesus, be bold, see fruit from my work, and yet I'm not willing to sit in the garden, throw back my hair, and let wind press against my face while I watch flower bloom.

We forget what the Psalmist wrote.

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

Be still and know; let Jesus be enough.

If you study the psalm, the context of being still goes even deeper.  The Psalmist, one of the sons of Korah, raises his voice in praise to God.  To summarize the song, he declares that even if something happened as crazy as the mountains being moved into the midst of the sea, God is supreme.  He is over all.

The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;

He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

- Psalm 46:6

"Suppose the whole world was falling apart," the psalmist seems to be saying, "with a God like ours, why would we fear?"

Be still and know; give up fear.

The last verse of the psalm is a line repeated all throughout the piece.

The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

- Psalm 46:11

We can live in victory, do hard things, and still forget that the King of the universe is with us.  He literally hears our prayers and knows our fears.  He knows how we spend our time.  He knows when we wake up, barely brave enough to slip out of the covers.

God Himself is our refuge.  But we'll miss that if we're too busy fighting the enemy to stop, turn towards His tower of refuge, and seek safety inside.

We can do all the right things and still miss the point if we are not being still and knowing that He is God.

Yes, we are supposed to do hard things for Jesus.  Yes, we shouldn't grow lax and lazy, living a meaningless life and not displaying the Gospel with our lives.  If we don't hoe down the weeds in our lives, fruit will struggle to grow.

But as I wrote in a post in April,

He is God, and He is in control. We can't let worry or tension invade our lives - be still. And we can't let our schedules rule our lives as we rush from to and fro without catching our breath - be still.

- 6 Ways to Rejoice in Jesus

My friend, if you want to know God in a personal way, let go of doing all the right things and be still in His presence.  Or if you struggle with fear and doubt, be still and realize that He is able to save.

And then step out.  Then do hard things for Jesus and with Jesus.

We need to do everything in life in order that we find more of Jesus.  Read our Bibles to find Him.  Do chores to find Him.  Respond to emails to find Him.

And sometimes, the best way to find Him is to be silent in His presence and know that He is God.  (read this post to discover practical ways to put this into practice).

Like we wait patiently for our gardens to produce fruit, wait on Jesus and let His presence be enough.  We could plow the ground, pull weeds, throw down fertilizer, and still miss the fruit if we don't take the time to kneel in the soil and be still.  Don't worry about the produce; give that up to the One who makes plants grow.

Savor His beauty and give up everything else.  It's not about doing all the right things.  It's about a relationship.

Friend, you're never alone.  And you are being loved.

You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you... do not fear or be dismayed.

- 2 Chronicles 20:17

Be still and know that He is God

Be still and know He is our Father

Come rest your head upon His chest

Listen to the rhythm of

His unfailing heart of love

Beating for His little ones

Calling each of us to come

Be still.

- Steven Curtis Chapman in Be Still and Know

~♥~