Be still and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10
Many Christians know this very comforting verse. It’s wonderful to meditate on; to think that we can have a stillness, and a peace, when we acknowledge the vastness of God’s power. And we acknowledge that He is God, and we are not.
But recently I read Psalm 46 more thoroughly and found the surrounding verses so illuminating;
He lifts his voice, the Earth melts….
He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
He burns the shield with fire.
He says, “Be still and know that I am God.”
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.
The Lord Almighty is with us.
The God of Jacob is our fortress.
-Psalm 46:6, 9-11
He lifts his voice, the Earth melts…He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.
I just can’t get these phrases out of my head.
Peaceful and Powerful
He lifts his voice, the Earth melts…? Do we realize the power God has? If I believe in God, do I believe he is all-powerful…?
Then this phrase should not be a surprise.
After all, God spoke worlds into existence. If he truly is an all powerful God, then of course, if he wants to, he can lift his voice and melt the Earth whether literally or figuratively.
This Psalm is often distilled down to Be still and know that I am God. And it is such a comfort to meditate on these words! For me, it has always been a beautiful, soft, quiet phrase that means we can take some deep breaths and focus on God and just relax and know that he is with us.
And that is one way to look at it. We can be still and meditate on him, and in his presence. We can enjoy that he is God and we are not, we can be at peace and leave everything up to him.
Now – after reading the surrounding verses – this well-loved verse takes on an even deeper meaning. And though it can be a statement of comfort and peace and solace, we see that it is also a statement of power. The overwhelming, unbelievable, omnipotent nature of our God. It is no wonder that in the Bible when someone is in God’s presence they are awestruck, even frightened. Because the power that he wields is overwhelming. We can’t even imagine it.
Good and Great
But the beauty of our God is that even though he is great and all-powerful, he is also good. And this is why we are instructed to call him Father. He is like a good father to us. And that includes power that can be awe-inspiring or even frightening at times, along with an overwhelming sense of love and protection and care and concern for us.
The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress.
God uses his infinite power not to frighten or punish us into submission, but to guide us, protect us and carry us when we are at our lowest point. Just as a good earthly father would. He is always with us.
It is good that our God is Great. But it is even better that he is Good. Our Good Father holds nothing back.
