Be Still and Know that I am God
by Mark Parsec(351)
Blogz
In the 14th chapter of Exodus we are given the account of when Pharaoh with all of his chariots had chased the Israelites down to the Red Sea. The Israelites appeared to be trapped, backed up against the sea, they had nowhere to go. And the Israelites complained to Moses and said…
12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:12-14)
13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:12-14)
So, to sum it up, in Exodus 14:13, the Bible tells us to: be still and see the salvation of God.
It's very interesting what happened here. The Israelites were in terror that they would be slaughtered by the army of Pharaoh. They had no defenses. They were not an army, they were slaves. They could see no way out of the situation.
Moses, told them to calm down, to be still, to not be so afraid. Why? So that they could see the salvation that God was bringing to them. If they were all riled up, they would miss it. So Moses basically says… be still—so you can see, so you can observe, so you can understand, so you can witness the things that God is doing for you.
If you are busy, all in a hurry, all upset, all frantic, moving at a hundred miles a minute—you miss a lot, because your mind is focused on doing what you are doing. If you are fearful, your mind is focused on your fear. You are not watching the deliverance that God may, very well, be working out for you! Sometimes—in our trials—we get so wrapped up in the trial and all the bad things that are happening, that we don't see God's salvation. I'm not talking about the spiritual salvation of being in His Kingdom. I'm talking about the deliverance from your trial.
When we are in trials, the best thing we can do is stand still and try to observe what God is working out in our lives. An agitated state makes us blind, most of the time, to what God is doing—because our agitated state is very selfish (centered on ourselves, on our fears, on our anxieties, on our worries, on our situation). Being still is being at a place where our minds can relax and see the broader picture of things.
In the book of Job we are told the account of the great tribulations of Job. In the midst of these difficult times Job whined and complained and even cursed the day he was born. In Job 37:14, one of Job’s friends, Elihu, tried to consol Job by saying…
14 “Listen to this, O Job;
Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
So, in Job 37:14 we are told to be still and consider the wondrous works of God.
Elihu was trying to get Job to see—trying to get Job to see God, trying to get Job to see his personal problem from God's perspective. Trying to make him not look at his own works and all the things he had done (to justify himself), but to look at God. And to try to turn things around so that he saw himself from God's perspective. But Job was so full of argument, he was so agitated, he was so frustrated and full of questions, that he couldn't see the crux of the problem. So that is why Elihu told Job to shut up and look at God… “Listen to this, O Job; Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.”
Sometimes we need to be still long enough to take our minds off of us and consider what God has done in the heavens and what He does with men. We need to be still so we can look at what God is doing!
In Psalm 8:3-4 King David says,
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him, (We are small God is BIG)
And the son of man that You visit him?
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him, (We are small God is BIG)
And the son of man that You visit him?
In Psalm 46:10 the Word of God says:
10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
At first glance, this "Be still and know that I am God" may seem to be the same as "Be still and see the salvation of the Lord"—but it is not. On closer inspection, it really should carry us to another conclusion. When we are still, we are empowered to know God. Seeing God and knowing God are two different things.
Psalm 46:10 tells us to: Be still and know God.
God wants a one-on-one relationship. When we are still, we are not distracted by other things. And distractions, and noises, and interruptions, and trials and all of that stuff that comes into our lives—they tend to drive us apart, away from God. They tend to get into the way of our relationship.
We tend to think that troubles drive us toward God; but, in reality, troubles can be so distracting that they tend to make us self-centered. We tend to get absorbed in our trouble, and not on God—who is working things out for our salvation.
So… the Word of God encourages us to be still so we can: See God... Consider God... and come to Know God. One of the things we come to know about God is that He can calm the storms in our lives…
In Psalm 107:29 the Word says…
29 He calms the storm,
So that its waves are still.
So that its waves are still.
And in the Gospel of Mark we are given a wonderful example…
Mark 4:35-41 (Jesus stills the storms of life)
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”[d] 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Like the disciples we get caught up in the storms of life and worry. And like them we cry out…
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that my child is sick?
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that my marriage is falling apart?
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that my friends have deserted me?
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that I have no money?
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that I feel so alone?
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that I want to give up?
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that my spouse has died?
Lord Jesus, don’t you care that I lost my job?
We have all asked that question in a million ways a million times. We never question the Lord’s compassion when things are going well. When we are feeling this way we need to be still, and see his salvation, we need to be still and consider who he is, we need to be still and know that He is God and that He not only cares… but that He has not abandoned us.
And we will come to know that just like the storm which he calmed, by saying, Peace, be still, he says to the storm in our minds… Peace, be still.
In the Gospel of Luke we are given another account that is very informative.
Luke 10:38-42 (Mary sat at Jesus’ feet to hear His Word)
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41 And Jesus[l] answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
41 And Jesus[l] answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Martha was distracted and busy and worried and in so many words she said, “Lord don’t you care that I’m doing all this work all by myself… Mary’s lazy, tell her to get up and do something. But, Jesus knew what was important… Mary sat still at Jesus’ feet, listening to his Word…
Ohhh, we need to be still like Mary so we can hear his word.
Finally, in the Gospel of Mark we are given a very interesting account…
Mark 10:46-52 (Jesus stood still for Bartimaeus)
46 Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
48 Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.
Then they called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”
50 And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.
51 So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”
52 Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
You see, when we cry out to Him… Jesus stops everything He is doing, Jesus becomes still for us… to hear our voice… to comfort and heal us and to calm our storms.
If Jesus wants to know us enough to become still for us… shouldn’t we become still for him and listen to his words of life?
So, in summarizing…
1.From Exodus 14:12-14 we learn to be still so we can SEE the salvation of God.
2.From Job 37:14 we learn to be still and CONSIDER the wonders of God.
3.From Psalm 46:10 we learn to be still and KNOW God.
4.From Mark 4:35-41 we learn that Jesus can STILL THE STORMS of life with his WORD.
5.From Luke 10:38-42 we learn that when we are still we can HEAR HIS WORD.
6.From Mark 10:46-52 we learn that Jesus will become STILL for us.
If you have been going through storms in your life, I want to encourage you to be still, to pray, to listen to what the Lord has to say to your heart and then watch and see if He doesn't reveal himself to you in a mighty and powerful way.
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Article submitted Monday, December 14, 2009 & read 309 times.
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