Be Still…and Then You Will Know

Be still. Such small words. Such a daunting task.

“Be still, and know that I am God:” Psalm 46:10

I’ve known this verse about as long as I’ve known John 3:16. In part because I’ve always know this to be among my mom’s favorite verses. And perhaps, just maybe, the Lord has been frequently whispering this verse to my soul for as long as I’ve been a visionary with more ideas than focus. (So basically since about the moment my heart first began to beat.)

This verse has always meant so much to me. But perhaps even more so as we find ourselves in a world where stillness is increasingly considered more of a luxury than a given.

A couple weeks ago, as I was preparing a Bible study, something about this verse spoke to my heart as it never had before. I had always read this verse to say be still and admit, believe, proclaim that He is God. And while I believe that is very much true, what if…

What if we read this verse to say, “Be still. And [then you will] know that I am God!”

What if the stillness itself is what brings on the full knowledge of Who He is?

What if we quieted our hearts long enough to actually feel His heart beat with ours?

Perhaps then we would not only believe that He is God, but perhaps then and only then, in that stillness, could we truly perceive and come to know that He, in fact is God.

Note the comma. A comma means to pause.  Perhaps we could read it, “Be still. [Pause.] And know that I am God.”

As we hustle into this new season of summer I hope this verse will give you pause. And as you sit with this perhaps you can do as the lovely Emily P. Freeman so often says and find room for your soul to breathe.

Let me give you one more to chew on:

“For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: In returning [to Me] and resting [in Me] you shall be saved; in quietness and in [trusting] confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15 (AMPC)

Over the course of the next several weeks I’ll be doing some reposting of a guest blog series I hosted last summer with some amazing women. Whether you caught them last time around or this will be your first encounter, I have no doubt you will be encouraged by what they have shared with us.

Love you all! Again, thanks for your patience as I work at a slower pace for a bit and continue to seek God’s best for me and my family in this season.

Happy Summer!