“Be Still and Know that I am God.” This is one of the most powerful lines in the Bible. It comes from Psalm 46: 10 and I find it beautiful and compelling, fascinating and challenging.
The first thing that strikes me is that God didn’t say, “Be quiet and know that I am God” or “Be yourself and know that I am God” or any of the infinite number of other possibilities.
What this tells me is that movement in excess prevents us from knowing God. Rushing here and there all the time is an obstacle to knowing God. That’s a problem, because it is so easy to fall into the frantic and frenetic way of life in today’s world.
Are our lives frenetic and frantic? I think the great majority of people would say yes. And that’s a problem.
Why? Well, let’s take a look at the definitions of these two words.
The definition of frantic is: wild or distraught with fear, anxiety, or other emotion.
The definition of frenetic is: fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way.
Is this really how we want to live our lives? I think the answer for most people is no. But we need get still enough for long enough to recognize the insanity of our ways.
It is incredibly difficult just to be still. But I firmly believe that if we will sit still enough and quiet enough for long enough God will reveal himself to us in amazing ways. But I don’t want you to take my word for it, I want you to try it. Put it to the test.
Find a quiet place and a chair that is comfortable, but not a comfy chair that you are going to sink into. Sit still, perfectly still, and quiet, for as long as you can… and see what happens!
Matthew Kelly
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