I have been trying to be quiet before the LORD more in 2024. When I look back on 2023 it appears noisy and busy to me. I would label it a year of struggle. Not necessarily always struggling with bad situations, but a busy kind of struggle that has robbed my soul and spirit of quiet times before the LORD.
As I read Psalm 46 this morning, I came across that all familiar and often-quoted verse 10: “Be still and know that I am God.”
Would it surprise you to learn that “still” does not mean to be quiet and not talk? The word is raphah, and it means “to cast down, let fall, to let hang down (especially the hands).”
It is used in the sense of not making any effort or putting forth any exertion. It carries the idea of ceasing all struggle and leaving everything in God’s Hands.
When you read Psalm 46 notice how God is portrayed. He is our refuge, strength, ever-present help. He is the LORD Almighty, our fortress. He works among us; bringing desolations, causing wars to cease, and defeating enemies.
It doesn’t matter if the very mountains fall into the sea or quake mightily … our God is mightier than anything and as verse 11 points out … He is “with us.”
It is only in knowing our God after that fashion that we can cease all struggles, be still, and leave everything in God’s Hands.
