Psalm 46:10
This entire Psalm – all 11 verses – have been a great comfort and reminder in this season of unrest.
It starts out with this incredible truth:
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”
“Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way.”
Because God is our refuge we don’t have to fear.
Even when everything seems to fall apart…
Even when a pandemic sweeps across the globe…
Vs 10 right at the end of this little Psalm is well known and has always given me trouble.
“Be still and know that I am God.”
Be Still
For any that know me, I struggle with the “be still” part. Like so many, it is hard for us to stop in the middle of our crazy busy lives.
Yet now I find myself (with the rest of the world) in a giant PAUSE. All of a sudden, being still has a lot less competition. And yet – it is still incredibly hard to simply be still.
There is a second part to this little command. I rarely get to it, because I struggle so much to get a handle on the first part.
Know that I am God.
When little David faced Goliath, he knew who God was. He declared it boldly to everyone gathered around. David didn’t minimize how big and bad Goliath was. Everyone could see just how large and imposing this giant was. David simply put his focus on God.
We have similar challenges when we face giants.
We can look at this pandemic and focus on the never ending details of just how big and scary it is.
· Daily updates on the # of cases and deaths in your county, state, country and world.
· Constant updates and press conferences
· Countless models and projections
The list can keep going and going; it is intimidating.
Like David, though, we have a choice – we can look at all the scary details of this pandemic or we can focus on how BIG our God is.
· God will never leave me
· God is greater than all of creation
· God loves me
I have come to realize that for so long I have been going about this the wrong way. This isn’t a step by step problem to solve; it is a part of the invitation to be in relationship with our Savior.
When we choose to spend time with God we learn to know Him more.
When we understand how great our God is, we can truly rest and be still.
We can face the giants that come our way.
Like the Psalmist says, although everything falls apart, “The God of Jacob is our fortress.”
We can take shelter in the refuge of our God.