Hustle and feel important. Build and be satisfied. Accumulate and win. Outdo and impress. Stay busy and be gratified. Make yourself indispensable in the eyes of others and find fulfillment. Scroll (and scroll, and scroll, and scroll) and just mentally check out. That’s life for many, many people in the 21st century. But are we missing out on anything if our senses of purpose and sources of satisfaction are tied for all practical purposes to the hustling, the building, the binging, and the scrolling?
For three thousand years, a challenge and invitation has been sitting in the heart of the Bible.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!” (Psa 46:10)
“Be still.” In what deeper, more intimate ways might we come to know God if we slowed down, tuned out, and turned off? If we took our Creator at his word…
Be still, and slowly read a portion of Scripture.
Be still, and meditate on your many experiences of the goodness of God.
Be still, and quietly sing the words of a hymn to yourself.
Be still, and pray, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Be still, and envision the throne of heaven.
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Could it be that I don’t know this God as well as I could or should, and might the reason be that I’m not taking the time to “be still”? Intentional stillness is a significant part of what disciples of Christ do together by God’s design every first day of the week. Stillness in prayer. Stillness in our observance of the Lord’s Supper. Stillness in thoughtful listening to the word of God proclaimed. “Be still, and know.” If we listen and apply, humbling ourselves beneath his mighty hand, what might we come to know? Psalm 46 is an absolute treasure trove, so let’s practice, shall we? Let’s be still, read it slowly, meditate on it deeply, and rejoice in the knowledge it continues to impart…
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come, behold the works of the LORD,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
In a disjointed, purpose-starved, joy-parched world consumed with hustling, building, binging, and scrolling, the three thousand-year-old invitation can still be found, right there in the heart of the Bible. “Be still, and know.” We would do well to listen and apply.