“Be still and know that I am God …”
Psalm 46:10
“Psalm 46:10 tells us there is a kind of knowing that comes in silence and not in words–but first we must be still. The Hebrew word translated ‘Be still’ literally means ‘Let go of your grip.'” Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Ruth Haley Barton.
When I learned this meaning last summer, I expanded it: let go of your grip, keep your hands at your sides, and put duct tape across your your mouth.
“Let the words of my mouth … be acceptable in your sight, O Lord …” Psalm 19:14. This is one of the verses I pray over regularly. As a child I learned, sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt you. Hmmm, not so. Words have the power to be misunderstood and very hurtful. This morning as I sat outside under the beautiful red, gold, and orange canopy of the NC hard woods, I heard the Lord whisper, Sue, you are not the answer to the issues swirling around you. My words may offer love, or my words might hurt. Like you, my heart is for my words to bring love and hope.
And God whispers, keep that duct tape in place. Be still. Many days it is a re-surrender, a new trust.
Mark Buchanan says it this way, “Most of the things we need in order to be most full alive never come from busyness. They grow out of rest.”
I believe rest and trust are first cousins. More coming on this later.
I have such a hard time being still. It’s almost scary because then God speaks and what if I don’t want to hear what He has to say, especially if there is an area of my life I know He wants to speak to. It’s funny. I am sick and can barely speak above a whisper right now. One way to be still I guess. Maybe being still is exactly what I need right now with my grief journey. A reminder that yes, it hurts, but I am not going through it alone. Thank you.
Hi Becky, I hope you’re feeling better.
When I train women to be still, I ask them to start with 5 minutes. Five minutes to just sit and stare … my favorite is to sit and stare outside. No Bible, no journal, just sit. Set a timer if necessary. Eventually I think you’ll find that the 5 minutes fly by and expand to 10, 15, and even more.
Try it. Let me know how it goes.
love, sue
I love this Sue. Someone is always quoting from Psalm 46, so I just had to memorize it. I do have a comment about the script. It is very light and I have trouble reading it. Is it my eyesight ?
Keep writing. I love your comments.
Again, Pat, thank you for your encouragement.
Psalm 46 is a great one to memorize!
I have no idea how to make my print darker. I’ll ask my IT guy the next time I’m with him.
love, sue