Be Still

A favored scripture in today's hectic world is Psalm 46:10, which reads: "Be still, and know that I am God...."

It's good stuff, for sure. It's great knowing that there is a higher power out there and that He (not "it") is for you and has plans to prosper and not to harm you. Just another reason to fall in love with our Father.

Are you ready for a paradigm shift?

A dear friend of mine recently showed me the context of this excerpt. Not that I hadn't read it before; I just hadn't taken the time to actually read the words, I guess. So I wasn't prepared when she read aloud the verses leading up to that point in the chapter.

Come and see what the LORD has done,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

He makes wars cease

to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the shields with fire.

He says, "Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

Now maybe you all already knew that, but I didn't. And it threw me for a loop. I'm not denying God's fatherly attributes, by any means, but I just have to point out that the God described in Psalm 46 is a frightening being.

The "Be still" in this context doesn't strike me as a "Shh calm down; everything's going to be OK! Be still, see? I got this!" pat-on-the-back.

To me, it thunders.

"I Am that I AM! And I will be exalted, whether you choose to follow me or not. I hold the universe in my hands, and your pouty, uncooperative selfishness is less than a speck of dust in My master plan. Struggle if you want, but it won't get you anywhere. Be still, and know that I am God."

Quite a difference, don't you think?

Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest has this to say on January 3rd (This is just an excerpt, though I suggest reading the entire thing):

If we have never had the experience of taking our casual, religious shoes off our casual, religious feet--getting rid of all the excessive informality with which we approach God--it is questionable whether we have ever stood in His presence. The people who are flippant and disrespectful in their approach to God are those who have never been introduced to Jesus Christ.

Like I said before, I'm all for embracing God's loving, Fatherly character. But we can't forget who He is and who we aren't. Angels and demons hide their faces from Him and tremble upon hearing His very name. Old Testament patriarchs and prophets feared death at seeing a mere messenger of the LORD. Yet in today's society we think so highly of ourselves that we trounce on up to the throne of the almighty God without a second thought of what it is we're doing. When we pray, we're conversing with the creator of everything in existence! I don't know about you, but I'm having a mild spaz attack right now! How can we do this so casually, so ignorantly? This is a BIG deal!