Be Still and Know That I am God (Psalm 46)

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

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What drew my attention today was the familiar instruction in 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”  But hearing those words in the context of this psalm led me to meditate on them not so much as a personal word of comfort in my distress, but rather as God’s declaration that His mission is going forward despite the chaos and turmoil of the world.

This is a psalm of comfort in the middle of a world in chaos. The psalm mentions earthquakes and warfare in particular.  God is a strong fortress and refuge that cannot be breached no matter how chaotic the world becomes, and no matter how many nations rise up against Him.  (This psalm is the basis for Luther’s hymn “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”)

Does it seem as though we’re living in a world of chaos today?  In your own life?  There seems to be so much unrest and uncertainty on a global scale, vile enemies doing great harm, economies tottering.  We are heading into yet another month of pandemic.  Our nation is in the middle of yet another racial turmoil.  This Psalm fits, as does it message.  Our God is a strong fortress, stronger than all the surging forces boiling up throughout the world.

But this is where verse 10 is really amazing.  It’s not just that God is a fortress, standing defensively stalwart and unshakeable.  He’s on the move.  He’s on the offensive.  His mission is going forward.

When He says, “Be Still,” it’s a rebuke to all who oppose him.  It’s the same thing Jesus said to the evil spirit in Mark 1:25, and to the wind and the waves in Mark 4:39.  He is God over all creation, spiritual and physical.

And then what does he say?  “Know that I am God.”  That much-heard refrain is code for God’s mission.  The way His mission is expressed most commonly throughout the Old Testament is as a desire for all the nations to “know that He is God.”  This means much more than head knowledge. This means to come to a saving faith knowledge

So He rebukes the nations and the broiling creation, calls all to acknowledge who He is, to come to faith.  And finally to worship Him: “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”   This of course is the end game of the mission:  God exalted and worshipped by all the creation.

This is the comfort for me:  My life may be in chaos.  My world may be in chaos.  But my God is a fortress, a rock-solid refuge.  He is Lord of all, and His mission is moving forward.  None of the chaos can stop Him.  He rebukes all that opposes Him, and moves forward, setting before me the vision of the day when all creation will know Him and worship Him.

So my prayer is for God’s mission.  I am praying for His mission especially in places that are boiling with chaos, where it seems as though He is not Lord.  I’m praying for those who are living as missionaries to take comfort in our Mighty Fortress and know that He is still about His Mission.  Nothing can stop Him.  All Glory be to Him.

NOTE:

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