“Be Still” by Meghan Williams of Dyed4you Art
Psalm 46:10 (VOICE) “Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God. I am the God above all the nations, and I will be exalted throughout the whole earth.
When we are yoked with our Creator, there are moments when we’re not going at the same speed that He is. When we are out of alignment with Him, we can feel it as tug upon our soul. Sometimes that tug is gentle, and at other times—when we are insistent in our striving—that tug is much more firm. “Stop striving,” He beckons. “Stop pulling against My yoke. It’s time to come and sit at My feet and just rest. It’s time to remind yourself of Who is leading.”
This call is reminiscent of Psalm 46:10, where God tells us to “be still and know” that He is God. When we dig deeper into the Hebrew of this text, there is beautiful insight into what God is asking us to do in the moments when we feel that tug upon our souls. The command “be still” in Hebrew is raphah (Strong’s H7503), which means “to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, be disheartened.” One definition according to the Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon is “to leave off anything, e.g. a work begun, Neh. 6:8… Psalm 46:11 ‘leave off your own attempts and know.’”
Think of a field hand diligently working the soil in a field. His supervisor suddenly calls out to stop work and take a break. So the field hand immediately stops, lets go of the tool in his hand, and walks away to take that break. In much the same way, when God tells us to “be still,” He’s calling us to stop striving over a matter in our lives and come into a place of rest.
Yet there’s a second layer to this call. God asks us to “be still and know” that He is God. Not only must we stop striving, but we must also be intentional to realign our focus on God. In Psalm 46:10, the Hebrew word for “know” is yada (H3045). Yada alludes to a type of knowledge that involves an intimate perception of something. Yada is also used euphemistically for the intimacy between spouses. (Genesis 4:1 says that Adam “knew” his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore their son Cain.) When we really comprehend a person or matter, we obtain intimate knowledge. We gain a unique clarity of perception.
In 1 Corinthians 13:11-12, Paul says, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (NKJV). When we feel the call to “be still and know,” God is calling us to realign our focus in that moment. This is a precious gift, an opportunity for us to enter the Holy of Holies and have a “face to face” moment with Him. This is a call to reconnect with the Source of Love.
When we are striving, there is a misalignment in our spiritual vision and our misperception of love concerning a particular matter. Clarity can only be found when we’re seeing the matters of life the way that God sees them. By the flesh, we have a cloudy, distant perception of life, but with God, we have access to a full level of disclosure.
Are you anxious and afraid over a matter? Do you feel alone and without answers or help? Or perhaps, you feel exhausted and weak, facing a challenge in your life to which you feel at a disadvantage. It’s time to “be still and know.” It’s time to reconnect with your Creator and remember that He has everything under control. Let His love and peace wash over you, and allow Him to give you fresh revelation for the road ahead.
