BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
This familiar phrase of Psalm 46:10 presents a troubling dilemma to people who are continually “on the go.” We are often locked into a time-space concept of culture, convinced that our days must be consumed by intense activity and a series of hectic, sometimes, dramatic events. We are an impatient people. We have come to expect action, instant action, even from God.
Most of us have never learned the secret of being “still” before God. We have never come to the maturity that accepts the quiet interludes in life as His provision for our welfare. We have not yet come to realize that godly growth and godly accomplishment can progress as rapidly in quiet time and gentle retreats as they can in the heat and fury of action.
It takes some of us (like me) almost a lifetime to discover that our God is seldom, if ever, in a great rush or hurried frenzy as we humans are. In His infinite wisdom, care, and love, God takes great pains and long periods of time over His magnificent work in growing great character in a person’s life.
One book that the Lord used to help me understand the importance and benefits of being alone with God and getting to know Him was J. I. Packer’s book, KNOWING GOD. It is the person who has been in the quiet place, alone with God, who is going to have a message from the Lord. If any person is to have power with others and God, he/she must derive that energy and motivation from personal, intimate contact with God. It is in His presence that we find peace, joy, and rest. At His throne, we find forgiveness, restoration, and refreshment.
God longs to be known by you. He longs for you to seek His face and get to know His personality, the nature of His love, and the availability of his presence. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” God is waiting to demonstrate Himself to you if you truly seek Him. Seek Him first (Matthew 6:33); seek Him with your whole heart (Jeremiah 29:13); and seek Him with a pure heart (Psalm 66:18). He’s waiting and He will not disappoint you.
This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches.
But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken! (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NLT)
Nothing can compare with the privilege of knowing God in whose presence is fullness of joy and in whose hand, there are pleasures forever (Psalm 16: 11). “BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. “
