Be Still, and Know
A short command from an old psalm asks us to stop, and tells us why.
Today's verse is Psalm 46:10. "He says, 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.'"
The line sits inside a psalm about upheaval. Mountains fall into the sea. Nations are in uproar. Kingdoms give way. Then, into all that noise, comes a single instruction: be still.
Stillness here is not a mood. It is a stopping. The verse asks the reader to lower their hands and stop managing the outcome, at least for a moment, and to let one fact stand on its own: God is God.
That is a hard thing to do when you are tired. It asks for nothing clever. It asks only that you stop, and then that you know.
Whatever is in uproar for you today, the verse does not promise that it will quieten. It promises who holds it.
More in scripture
Be Still, and Know
An ancient line, written for a frightened people, asks us to stop before it asks us to understand.
Peace That Stands Guard
When worry crowds in, an old letter offers a different way to carry it.
Mercies That Arrive With the Morning
An old lament finds its footing in a daily, ordinary grace.
