Be Still and Know that I am God (Part 3)

"Be still and know that I am God..." (Psalm 46:10). 

Today I come to the last part of my journey on this phrase. Like a crescendo in music it starts softly and builds into this loud climax designed to...make one still. 

I will make an astute observation:  I am not God. He is God. The problem is not writing this simple observation, but in living it out. 

I often imagine what it would be like to live as if there were no God (like many in this world do). From a purely societal standpoint I don't think my life would be much different. I don't steal or commit other crimes not because I believe that their is a God but rather the thought of prison deters me from such behavior. I do good things because it makes me feel good inside, because it makes my world a better place for me. So any notion of an altruistic motive is quickly removed. I know my own heart to well. There has to be something more than an ethical impetus - something greater than this. There has to be something that stops life and yells, "You are not God! He is God!" The ethical implications will follow but its knowledge of the person that one should be after. 

I have heard many people quote Psalm 14:1 at this point, "The fool says in his heart 'there is no god..." Unfortunately this is not how the original Hebrew was interpreted nor does it line up with history. The actual reference says, "The fool says in his heart, "God does not care." (JPS translation). You may be thinking this is a lot different in meaning, but its not. You just have to have the right meaning for the first translation. 

Atheism is a modern phenomenon born out of the Enlightenment Period when men became really, really smart and decided there wasn't any such thing as a god or rather that man is god. Prior to that, the pendulum swung the other way - polytheism, or the belief in many gods. This is the context of Psalm 14. So a fool is not one who does not believe in the existence of God; he is one who lives his life as though God does not care - as if He does not exist. This is more aligned with a Deist position - there is a God who created all things - he wound it up like a clock and let it go...determining its own path without His involvement. 

Be still and know that I am God - a God who does care. It's why God says, "Be still."  Don't be agitated. Don't be in a panic. Don't feel rushed. Don't believe the lie that all is out of control or stuck. Be still and know. Know that God does care. Know that He is in control. Know that your sin or past failures will not prevent Him from carrying out His plan for your life in His mission. Know that God is great, that God is good. Know that He loves unconditionally and has your best interest in mind. Be still and know this God. This God is the one who will be exalted above every nation - exalted above all the earth. 

"Be still and know that I am God" "I am in control." "I am sovereign over all things." 

"Be still...

and know...

Me."