What Does it Mean to Be Still and Know God?

A Familiar Phrase

Be still, and know that I am God: Psalm 46:10

I would venture to say that most of us are very familiar with this phrase as it is used in a myriad of objects, from tumblers to art work. Sometimes there is a danger when we become too familiar with something, it can lose power or presence. We might lose sight of what it means or what it can do. This is why it is important to study the word of God especially in its context. Just as a realtor stresses location, location, location. I like to stress context, context, context because this helps us gain a better understanding of the meaning of a verse and why it was placed in that particular spot. I remember reading hearing someone say that this verse was a battle cry and when I heard them say that I thought that was ridiculous but as I have studied and meditated on this verse I will say that there is some validity to their conclusion but that is not all that is contained here. I will circle back to this idea in a moment but first let’s read the preceding verses of verse 10 to help us set the stage.
1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
9 He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.
There are a lot of things mentioned in these verses that could cause chaos, fear, and anxiety. The earth is moved which makes me think of earthquakes. The mountains are carried into the sea perhaps a volcano eruption like the island of Pompeii. The waters roar, I think of a hurricane or tsunami. Notice that there is a Selah, meditate on this. Mediate on what? Who God is. The heathen rage, kingdoms are moved but still God is with us, He is our refuge. Again, Selah. Meditate on this fact. Then there is a focus on His power and His person. 
Now let’s read verse 10 again along with verse 11:
10. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Is this a battle cry? Yes, because the Psalmist is saying that in the midst of absolute chaos and fear we don’t have to yield, in fact, we can rise up as if in battle and sing the praises of our God. Just as Moses said in Exodus 14, Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord when Israel was in a full panic attack as Egypt's army was pressing in behind them. Moses sounded the battle cry spreading his arms out as God parted the Red Sea, their path of deliverance. But with both of these passages there is one common denominator, a prerequisite to the battle cry. Be still. Stand still. Just as Israel could not witness God’s power when they were running around in fear, neither can we. We will remain restless, fearful, and defeated until we are still before God.
So what does it mean to be still and know that He is God?

What does it mean to be still and know that He is God and how does this impact our lives? Let’s start with the phrase be still, in the Hebrew it is one word which means to refrain, to let alone meaning to do nothing, to be quiet. 
Though everyone may not admit it, many of us have a fear or dread of stillness. We have become so used to noise that we keep things running on a regular basis, even at night. How many run a fan at night not because you are hot but because you enjoy the white noise? I am raising my hand. What is it about silence that makes us so uncomfortable? Perhaps it's the lack of stimulation our brains have become accustomed to. Maybe it's the fact that we can hear our own thoughts or we start to think about things we would rather forget. Silence can also pave the way for contemplation as we consider what kind of person we are and we want to avoid that too. Many have even started wearing their earbuds or AirPods constantly because they dread the silence so much. I’m afraid we tend to view silence as an enemy that must be conquered, but what if silence were not the enemy but noise? The enemy of our souls already knows the answer which is why as Elizabeth Elliott says:
The devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds. He will not allow quietness.
Our world is full of noise from traffic sounds, to loud music everywhere we go, and even the sound of conversation. We are also a busy people, kept running from one thing to the next and there tends to be an abundance of crowds whether we go to the grocery store or just for a stroll downtown. Satan delights in our lack of stillness because he knows if we truly understood the power of the quiet place our lives would be transformed.
Truly, silence is the necessary path to knowing God but it is a path we are afraid to take. Often we behave like the prophet Jonah who knew what God wanted from him but chose to run in the opposite direction. We would rather take another scroll through Facebook instead of sitting quietly with our Bibles, but only one will allow us to know God. So how do we stop running from the silence and instead learn to embrace it? First we need to retrain our mind and soul from viewing silence as something to be avoided and instead see it for what it truly is, an invitation from God to know Him. There is no other God who does what our does, desires to be known. All other leaders of religion hid behind some shroud of mystery but our God rent the veil in two just so we could enter boldly into His presence. When Moses asked to see God’s glory he was not denied. Consider that we don’t even have to earn the right to know Him. As His children, He, like any good father, wants His children to be near and have a relationship with Him. Silence is the necessary means to developing a relationship with our Heavenly Father. 
The necessity of stillness
Young Samuel is a wonderful reminder of the necessity of stillness: Speak Lord for thy servant heareth. Eli knew that the boy would not be able to hear God until he stopped talking and was intentional about listening. Stillness takes intention, it does not just happen by chance, we have to plan for it. It requires that we leave our phone on silent and perhaps don’t even take it with us when we are having our quiet time. Sadly, these devices, meant to make our lives easier and keep us more connected, are part of the reason we are so disconnected with God. Their endless notifications and vibrating grab our attention even going so far as to form an addiction to having to know right at that moment what that notification represents. The enemy of our souls is not asleep but busier than ever in cultivating new distractions for us. We must be vigilant and diligent regarding these constant distractions that are seemingly bombarding us on every side. Just as Samuel went back to his bed and was ready when God spoke to him again, we too must enter our quiet time with a plan of action to ensure we can succeed. 

A plan for stillness
Let’s go back to the definition of be still. To refrain, to let alone meaning to do nothing, to be quiet. The word refrain means to stop oneself from doing something. What are some things we need to stop ourselves from doing when we are in the quiet place? Perhaps it is looking at our phones or thinking about something that we need to do and refrain from the urge to get up at that moment and doing it. What does it mean to let alone? Here it indicates the need to do nothing, to be quiet. There is something interesting that happens when silence appears, you remember every chore that needs to be done and your mind is flooded with a million questions from the meaning of life and whether or not you took out the ground beef you want to use for dinner tonight. To help with this, I keep a small notebook nearby where I can jot down something really important so I can empty my mind but have a means of remembering it later. We must make the choice to quiet our mind and hearts before God so that we will be prepared to hear and learn the message He has for us, just as He did for Samuel. This is our time to leave all earthly cares behind and enter into the heavenly realm so that we can be better equipped to serve on earth. 
Being still takes intention and planning paired with one other key ingredient, desire. Be still is God’s invitation to know Him but if we don’t desire it we will never put in the effort to accept it. Whatever we desire is what fuels which direction we go and how much effort we put forth. Again, the prophet Jonah had no desire to do the will of God so he ran the opposite direction which led to nothing but disaster and despair. My friends, can I tell you that as long as you run from the silence, from being still, your outcome will be the same. We will never experience all that God has for us if we don’t yield our lives to Him, but we can’t surrender to someone we don’t know and Satan understands this which is why He makes it his business to keep us busy and distracted. It will take work to be still but the rewards or results of being intentional about our quiet time, our moment of stillness, are great.

What are the results of stillness?
We will know God. I want us to stop and consider for a moment what that means. When we know someone we can finish their sentences, we know what makes them smile, what makes them sad, where they like to go and do. This is what God desires from us, to know Him, His character, what things He delights in, what things grieve His heart, and the meaning behind the names of His that He has revealed to us in His Word. We will also learn the heart of our God both in who He is and His desires toward us. We will discover He loves us with an everlasting love and withholds no good thing to them who walk up rightly. We will understand that He gives peaceful sleep and sweet rest. He provides us with hope, mercy, and forgiveness to all who ask. We will also learn about the beautiful home He has prepared for us where we will spend all eternity delighting in His very presence. This is just a few of the things we will learn when we practice being still and knowing God. I want to share an interesting passage from Jeremiah 9:23-24
Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord. 
Did you catch it? What are we supposed to glory in? Not our wisdom, might, or riches but in our understanding and knowledge of God. When I read that for the first time I was amazed, in fact I had no idea that it was in the Bible. But here God is telling us that knowing Him is something we can glory in, in our knowledge of God. Enduring Word Commentary said that to glory in something is to celebrate it, and to proclaim it as the source of one’s happiness and satisfaction. That’s why God said not to find your happiness or satisfaction in wisdom, might, or riches because they don’t last. Only our knowledge of God can do that. Why, because it is the foundation upon which we build our entire life and this knowledge of God enables us to weather any storm and helps us keep our eyes on what matters. Knowing God is a lifetime pursuit, a worthwhile one, that is deserving of all our resources, energy, and effort. Truly it is the only pursuit that matters because it makes all the difference in eternity but it can only be achieved when we choose to be still so that we can begin our journey of knowing Him.
It is our knowledge of God that keeps us grounded while on earth, it allows us to stand in the midst of fear and sound the battle cry. It also prepares us for eternity when we will finally see with our eyes the One we have been seeking to know by heart.