Be Still - Psalm 46:10

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Mark 4:39-40 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith.”

Naturalists are an unusual sort in our modern day mile-a-minute society. It’s uncommon to disregard time and accomplishment, if even for a moment. It is also unusual to patiently observe and become absorbed in your surroundings, particularly if those surroundings are not man-made. However, these qualities are trademarks of many naturalist activities. Birding is a classic example. The birder stands motionless for long periods, looking out and up, soaking in every sound and movement. The birder waits patiently for the opportunity to hear or see an excitingly novel or comfortingly familiar species that is responding to its environment in some unique way, in order to understand how it survives and fits into the world.

I’ve been pondering the virtues associated with ability to slow down, observe and gain perspective. The bible includes several instances where God tells mankind or creation in general to “be still”. Psalm 46:10 and Mark 4:39 are two of these instances. In Psalm 46:10, there are actually two commands. The first is “be still” and the second is “know that I am God”. I think these two commands support each other. Constant reminders are often necessary for us to pause and recognize that that God is all powerful and in control. It is exceedingly easy for humans to focus on the busyness and chaos of daily life, loose focus, and respond in worry. I think the story told in Mark 4 expresses something very similar. It starts with Jesus sleeping in a boat navigated by the disciples on quiet waters. Could you imagine anything more tranquil? However, they suddenly encounter a storm which threatens to sink the boat and the disciples become anything but still. They freak. Jesus in Mark 4:39 commands the storm to “be still”, and then he reprimands them for their worry. The chaos of the storm, like the chaos we encounter in our busy daily lives, caused them to quickly focus on themselves and lose sight God, even as he was right next to them. I must admit I do the same thing at some point nearly every day.

The lesson that I see in this is that it’s important to choose to place value on physically slowing down for the purpose of calming your soul, observing your surroundings, and gaining perspective on who God is and what He is doing on a regular basis. This would likely come at the expense of other things, so it certainly would not be easy. However, can we afford to not take time to ignore time, to be still and discover what God is doing so that we can act accordingly?