Being Still by Kari Bulman
I often turn to the Psalms when I feel unsettled. The raw, real heart cries found in the Psalms speak to me. I am forever grateful to King David and the way that he would throw every unfiltered emotion at God’s feet, and then redirect his heart to a posture of reverence and praise. David was the master of naming his emotions and then redirecting his focus to the one who could help him with them. For someone like me, who feels things deeply, the Psalms resonate with my need to process through the challenging emotions that life seems to bring.
Recently, as I sat in the wee hours of the morning in my pajamas drinking my coffee and marinating in Psalm 46, something I had read hundreds of times before struck me. I love how the living word of God does that! You see, this Psalm holds a line that most Christians have heard before, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, The NLT Bible). I can clearly recall entering the Bible bookstore with my mom as a young girl. It was filled with books, Christian music (CDs, of course), Bibles, and the walls were filled to the ceiling with verse art. This particular verse was commonly found in a scrolly font atop a painting of a placid lake, set against a warm sunset. In our humanity, we have branded this verse as the picture of serenity. As if to say, if you can find this, you can be still.
Yet when God masterfully inspired this statement, he placed it in the context of an urgent need for refuge amid the chaotic nature of our fallen world. I had never noticed that this statement is nestled within a chapter that speaks about the tumultuous nature of life here on earth. It says, “Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!” (Psalm 46:3, The NLT Bible). Then, in verse 6, “The nations are in chaos, and their kingdoms crumble!” (Psalm 46:6, The NLT Bible). And, in my Bible, the NLT version, this well-known statement is marked by an exclamation point, as if it’s trying to break through all of the noise of life.
“Be still and know that I am God!”
What this tells me is that God Almighty understands us and our human instincts. We are taught from birth to learn how to conquer new tasks, master them, and problem-solve. We learn to pick up a spoon, hold a cup, and take our first clumsy steps across the room. All the while, we are applauded by our parents, who are mesmerized by our ability to conquer the most menial of tasks. These life skills are necessary for every human as they move into adulthood. However, when we face circumstances beyond our control, our instinct to problem-solve does not serve us well. It just leaves us spinning through endless narratives of what could happen or perhaps what we could do or say, with no real solution or end in sight. It’s when the world feels like it's falling apart, and I feel helpless to understand it all, that God himself invites me to be still. Or perhaps it’s when MY WORLD feels like it's falling apart, and I am unsure what in the world comes next. He invites me to be still and remember that he is God and I am not.
There are parts of life that we just can’t problem-solve. There are endless scenarios involving other people, and, as much as we might want to, we simply have no control over how others behave or respond. Things happen! Life happens, as they say. The washing machine won’t drain, and the kids don’t have any clean clothes for school tomorrow. The car breaks down just as we are about to head out the door for an interview. Or we may find ourselves in a hospital room facing a diagnosis we never expected, and suddenly life changes. No one is free from the trials and problems of life—situations we have little power to avoid. All of us encounter these moments, and God invites us to find our refuge in him right in the middle of them.
So, this invitation to be still is not actually an invitation to find the perfect picture of serenity. It is an invitation to find rest in the very presence of God as we walk through life's insurmountable challenges. It is an invitation to take off our problem-solver hats and acknowledge the position and power of God. It is an invitation to stop striving and simply be God’s child. He does not ask us to “do” still. He asks us to be still. It is when we are still that we can truly know and experience the Lord's faithful love and care. This care extends beyond everything you might be facing today. This care is far greater than life’s circumstances, and the God of heaven and earth has been offering it to anyone who will receive it since the very beginning.
So where are you today? As you read this, do you recognize that you’ve been trying to charge through the chaos with your problem-solver hat on? Have you been spinning with all the possibilities beyond your control? God is offering this simple invitation to every one of us today. The invitation to pause in the middle of the chaos and be still and know that he is God. Will you take him up on it?