Going Deeper | Christmas with The Ridge
Be Still
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Be Still
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“Be still, and know that I am God.” - Psalm 46:10
The Holiday season can be wonderful. However, it is often full, typically in the exhausting sense of the word. It is a season where, in many cases, our load surpasses our limits. I know that has been true for me most years… including this one. At a time when there seems to be so much to do and not enough time to do it, the only healthy way forward is a counter intuitive one: “Be still.”
In Psalm 46, the psalmist declared God’s nature as a refuge for His people. He expressed that the peace of the people of God is directly linked to the presence of God. It’s in the fact that God is within the city that it won’t be toppled. Over and over, the reminder is that “God is with us.” It calls to mind what Paul penned in Romans 8:31: “If God is for us, who is against us?”
However, years later, we do see that Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians. This is because Israel turned away from the one true God and instead turned to other gods. In doing so, they turned away from their protection, their refuge, their peace. Rather than taking the advice of the psalmist to “Be still, and know that [God is] God,” they put their trust in other places. This led to their ruin.
Our decision to “be still” is an active acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty. It’s an admission that our best efforts don’t compare to stopping and allowing God to take His rightful place in our lives. It’s an opportunity to stop fighting battles on our own and give God the space to work in and through us. It’s slowing down for loving union with our creator.
So, as the holidays are coming to a close and a new year is approaching, embrace the instruction of the psalmist to “be still, and know that [God is] God.”
In Psalm 46, the psalmist declared God’s nature as a refuge for His people. He expressed that the peace of the people of God is directly linked to the presence of God. It’s in the fact that God is within the city that it won’t be toppled. Over and over, the reminder is that “God is with us.” It calls to mind what Paul penned in Romans 8:31: “If God is for us, who is against us?”
However, years later, we do see that Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians. This is because Israel turned away from the one true God and instead turned to other gods. In doing so, they turned away from their protection, their refuge, their peace. Rather than taking the advice of the psalmist to “Be still, and know that [God is] God,” they put their trust in other places. This led to their ruin.
Our decision to “be still” is an active acknowledgement of God’s sovereignty. It’s an admission that our best efforts don’t compare to stopping and allowing God to take His rightful place in our lives. It’s an opportunity to stop fighting battles on our own and give God the space to work in and through us. It’s slowing down for loving union with our creator.
So, as the holidays are coming to a close and a new year is approaching, embrace the instruction of the psalmist to “be still, and know that [God is] God.”
Start your day in stillness before the Lord of Armies.
Make time in your day to stop and acknowledge Jehovah Jireh, God the provider.
Finish each night by quieting your mind and your heart to allow God to work.
Make time in your day to stop and acknowledge Jehovah Jireh, God the provider.
Finish each night by quieting your mind and your heart to allow God to work.
Author: Andrew Archer, Student Ministry Director
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