Day 186/365- Psalm 46:10

"Freeze!"

"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 ESV)

Be still. Easier said than done in our culture. No one is just being still. Still people get passed by active people. Still people get passed up for promotions. We can't be still. We don't have time for still. We are too busy with our kids & their sports or activities. We are too busy with work. We are too busy with our leisure. Too busy with family activity. The thought of being still is a waste of time & money. But this is God's command to us in this Psalm. Because there is something that stillness does for us that activity can't.

This Psalm commands us to be still. That's the first command. But the crux of the verse is in the second command: know. Be still & know that I am God. Not only are we to know that he is God but also that he will be exalted everywhere, among all nations!

This has huge implications for us. We need to be still frequently because we need to be reminded who God is. We need to stop & set our hearts on him. We need to remember that he is God & we are not. That he is in control & we are not. If we don't stop & be still, in our busyness we will often forget this truth. We will find that activity has replaced God. We start to love & value things above God. This is why we must be still! Being still & setting our hearts on God helps us see our place in the universe. It reminds us of our position & purpose. It renews our focus on the one who is God (Him) & the one who isn't God (me). In reality, we must be still & know he is God, because our activity & actions would be better served coming from this still attitude & perspective of God.

Not only do we see who is God & who is not, but we also see what our lives are to be about. It's hard to keep focus on the ultimate in the midst of the daily. It's tough to be focused on the important in the midst of the urgent. It's hard to stay focused on why we are here in the rush of busyness. It's easy to forget our purpose in life with the pull of work, family, & just life! So being still & knowing God helps us remember why we are here. It brings his purpose for us into the ordinary.

The second part of the verse tells us this: "I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth!" We exist to exalt God. We exist to be a part of why the earth & all it contains exists, namely, to exalt God. Not that he isn't already exalted but to make much of his exaltation.

When we don't be still, we forget that we don't exist for us but for him. We forget our ultimate purpose in life. We forget why we are here. We start living for us or things & put him on the back burner.

So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how still are we? How often are we still? Have we lost our perspective on why we are here & who we are? Have we lost sight of who is God? It just might be time to be still. God's desire is that we keep these things in tact by regularly, even daily, taking time to be still before him.