(Originally posted December 27, 2015)
I recently was brought back to Psalm 46:10 in my personal time with the Lord. Sometimes, as we seek God, He will take us back to familiar passages we've known all our lives and take the truth to a new, deeper level than we've ever seen or understood before. Such is the case for me with this well-known verse.
"Be still and know that I am God."
Before this week, this verse has always caused me to slow down, be still, and know that He is God. Holy God. So I would be still in reverence of His holiness. I would be still and marvel at His glory and set-apartness. The vast difference between me, as a sinful man, and Him, as a perfect God. This time was different.
This time when I read it, I heard the Spirit say, "Be still and know that I AM."
Back in Exodus, the Israelites were enslaved by the Egyptians, and God had appointed Moses to deliver them from their captors. While God was telling Moses that He was to be the appointed Deliverer for His people, Moses said, "If they ask me, 'What is His name?' what shall I say to them?" God's response? "I Am Who I Am." This God is so incredible - our minds cannot fathom and our words cannot encapsalate all that He is. So His Name? The Great I Am.
I've only observed and heeded this verse to a very limited extent. He isn't just a Holy God. He IS the I AM. Perhaps the verse could be worded many different ways.
"Be still and know that I Am Provider."
"Be still, child, and know that I Am Strength."
"Be still and know that I Am Courage, Peace, Joy, and Grace."
"Be still and know that I Am Salvation, Mercy, Light, Life, and Love."
"I Am Holy, Righteousness, Perfection, and Friend."
"Be still and know, child, that I Am Father, I am Immanuel, God With Us."
"I Am Healer and I Am Deliverer."
"I Am Satisfaction and Fulfillment." "Be still and know that I Am Hope, Peace, Good, and Faithful."
"Be still. Be still and know."
(This mug has Psalm 46:10 in Spanish. It was a sweet Christmas gift from Rachelle. I'm convinced God helped her pick it out!)
He is all of these things and so much more. When we are still before Him, we find everything we need. Perhaps that is one of the most beautiful things about our God. He isn't just a holy, set-apart God far away in a heaven somewhere sitting on a golden throne. He is a relational God. He makes a way for us to be close to Him - and to have RELATIONSHIP with Him...and as we are still in His Presence, we find Him in the ways we need most....yes, perfect and set apart, but also very near, and very ready to pour into us in the ways we need the most.
