“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a)
What an eventful day it must have been. In obedience to God’s instruction, Elijah had challenged King Ahab to assemble the 450 prophets of Baal and the 450 prophets of Asherah for a showdown at Mount Carmel. (All this is found in 1 Kings 18:16-40.)
When the prophets, King Ahab, all the people from all over Israel showed up, Elijah issued the challenge: They were to set up two altars—“they” being the prophets of Baal and Asherah on one side, Elijah on the other. Then both sides—the worshipers of Baal and Elijah—would call upon their god to consume an offering offered at the altars. Whichever god sent fire to consume the altar, that would be the God of Israel.
The challenge accepted, Elijah allowed the Baal followers to go first. All day, the prophets of Baal called upon their god. They did as suggested, and from morning to noon, they called upon Baal, but to no avail. Around noon, Elijah began taunting them. By the time of the evening sacrifice, the offering made to Baal remained unconsumed.
Then it was Elijah’s turn. He built an altar, then slaughtered the bull. Next, he instructed the people nearby to fill four large tubs with water and pour it over the altar and the sacrifice. He had them do this three times, until “The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench” (1 King 18:35).
At twilight, Elijah called out to God, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at Your command. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God, and that You are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kings 18:36-37).
The next verse states that fire from the Lord fell and burnt up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and all the water in the trench.
The victory was complete. God had routed the false prophets and the people of Israel were acknowledging that God was God indeed.
And Elijah was exhausted. The expenditure of the emotional, physical and spiritual had sapped Elijah. The false prophets had been killed by the people, and now Elijah was alone.
Ahab returned home and told his wife, Jezebel, what had happened. She sent word to Elijah: “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them” (1 Kings 19:2).
Elijah had stood up to King Ahab. He had stood up to the false prophets. He had stood against the people of Israel. He hadn’t backed down. But now, the mere threat of this woman had him quaking in his sandals.
The Bible says Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. He cried out to God, “I have had enough, Lord. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
God sustained Elijah and instructed Elijah to travel to Horeb. When Elijah got to Horeb, he spent the night in a cave on the mountain. God woke him, and asked Elijah what he was doing there.
Elijah’s responds, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected Your covenant, broken down Your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too” (1 Kings 19:10). God then instructs Elijah to go stand at the mouth of the cave.
While Elijah stands at the opening, God sent a powerful wind, almost like a tornado, and the Bible says that the Lord was not in the wind. Next came an earthquake, but again the Lord was not in the earthquake. After this came a fire. Again, the Lord was not in the fire.
Finally, a gentle whisper came to Elijah. Elijah went out and again was asked by God why he was there. Elijah repeated his complaint. This time, God assured Elijah that he was not to be killed and that he had a great deal more to do.
The point of the passage is that God’s words of encouragement and support are found in a gentle whisper. We may expect Him in a might wind, an earthquake or fire, but we almost always find Him in the gentle whisper.
That’s why we need to be still, and know that He is God.
Why Is it Important to Be Still?
When the Berlin Wall was being built in the early 60’s, the American news channels began taking footage of the work going up. After they took the footage, the film then had to be flown to New York. Once it arrived in New York, it had to be developed, then edited and finally, it could be put on the air. It took about 48 hours from the beginning of filming to the news broadcast.
During that time, President Kennedy was able to meet with his cabinet, his defense and intelligence people and other necessary advisors. They could take the time to consider all the ramifications and what the nation’s response should be to the crisis. They knew they had 48 hours before the broadcast.
Today, we see the news event as it happens live. As it’s happening, reporters are asking the White House, the Pentagon, the State Department and any other relevant government organizations what our national response will be. We are watching it instantly; we want instant responses. If the White House is not immediately forthcoming with a response, that’s not good enough.
It’s the same way with everyday life. An email crops up at work; we are expected to answer it immediately. While we’re reading the email, we’re getting a call confirming that we got the email and what we’re going to do about it. One thing that used to drive me crazy is I’d get a message from a client. I’d listen to their voicemail to me, and I would call them back. More often than not, I’d get their voicemail. So, I would take the time to give a detailed answer to their question on the voicemail. As I’m speaking on the voicemail, I hear my receptionist answering the phone. I finish my message, and it’s my receptionist telling me the person I just left the voicemail is on the phone. I answer. Their response: “I saw you called, and I wanted to call back.” My response? “I just left you a detailed answer on your voicemail. If you had taken the time to listen to it, you wouldn’t have had to call me.”
We go on vacation to get away from work. And we’re expected to check up on our emails and messages. We never really get away. I remember reading somewhere that it takes about three days to decompress from work when we go on vacation. That is, we can’t really start relaxing until the fourth day of our vacation. But that was before the development of all the ways we can keep in contact with everything these days.
We want instant answers. We live in a world of noise and confusion, of demands on our time, our talent and our money. Everywhere we turn, we see someone or something calling for our attention. Our stress level rises, our temper shortens and we wonder why or what we’re doing.
And in this world, it is easy to lose sight of what is important. We allow ourselves to become convinced that our work is more important than it really is. Eventually, we begin to wonder: Am I working to live, or living to work? And what’s the difference? In all of this, as we begin to lose sight of the truly important, it becomes easier to place God off to the side. We can give Him lip service, but our hearts and our minds and our lives are racing here and there, and we have to pencil Him in if we can do that at all.
God knows that people can become easily distracted. He knows we can allow the truly important things to fall by the way side as we’re trying to put out fires all around us. He knows we can easily become burned out. That’s why He tells us to be still and know that He is God.
So How Do We Do That?
As is so often the case in most of the Christian walk, we need to make a conscious decision to set aside time for God and a time to listen for Him and to Him. Here are a few suggestions to help us get started.
Make a conscious decision to set aside time to be alone with silence. As is true in so much of the Christian walk, part of the walk requires us to decide to do something, to recognize that we have a part in the decision making of the relationship. So, set apart a time of quiet solitude to be alone with the Father. It can be first thing in the morning, the last thing at night, or any time in between. But it needs to be done, and it needs to be done religiously (no pun intended).
Many of us are not comfortable with quiet. We seem to need background noise of some kind, something to fill the void. Most of us find that through music or the radio or television. But the time to be still and know that He is God is the time to be away from everything that might hinder the still small voice of the Lord. Turn everything off. If you feel you need to have some background noise, then find a quiet place outside where you can hear the breeze, the birds or crickets, maybe a babbling brook or something similar. The point is, find a place that is as free of distraction as possible.
Once we’ve set aside the time, we need to set aside a place. The place needs to be somewhere we specifically designate to meet with the Lord. It needs to be a place where disturbances are kept to the minimum. Jesus mentions a prayer closet. Maybe a closet is what we might need or choose. Maybe a comfortable chair in a less used room, sort of set off from the rest of the house. The back porch or the front porch. Maybe a short walk down the street or to a park or somewhere nearby. Find the quiet place and designate it as your “meeting with God” place.
I’ve heard people make excuses for not being in church on Sunday—“I can worship God just as easily on the golf course (the lake, the ball game, etc.) as I can in church.” There is very much truth in that statement. We can worship God anywhere and everywhere. The problem with the statement is that we’re not going to the golf course or the lake or the arena to worship God, and so He’s not at the forefront of our attention while we are there. The reality is, the idea of worship at those times is really far down the list, if it’s even on the list at all. When we come to church—when we make the time and effort to be present in a place of worship—the odds are much higher that we are there to meet with the Lord and are more focused on Him than at any other time or place.
Third, set a specific time to meet with God. By this, I mean, designate a specific amount of time we will spend in our quiet place. If you believe you can only afford ten minutes of time, then give God the full ten minutes. More than likely, those ten minutes will seem an eternity when you first start, but it will quickly become much shorter. As you find the time filling up, then learn to give God more time.
Fourth, use your imagination. Let’s suppose the designated quiet place is the back porch where a swing is located and a relatively comfortable chair. Maybe your place is the swing. Sit on one side and use your imagination to picture Jesus sitting beside you, gently swinging with you. Or see Him in the comfortable chair. Imagine Him sitting there with you. He can be dressed in the garb of first century Galilee, or He can be dressed in today’s attire. Imagine the sound of His voice and of His laugh. See His face and the expressions He makes. Let your mind run free to see Christ as a very real person sitting with you. And learn to listen to Him.
Finally, as you sit in your quiet place at your quiet time, seeing Him with you, specifically tell Him why you’re meeting with Him. “Jesus, I am here today to listen to what You have to say. I just want to be still and know that You are God.” Then, sit and listen. It may be a while before you begin to discern His presence and His voice, but it will come. More than likely, as you are listening for His voice, you will be reminded of a Bible verse, or maybe a hymn. If it’s a hymn, then sing it softly in reverent worship to the One who brought you the song. If it’s a verse, find it, read it in its context and marvel at what He is saying to you in that passage at this time.
And if you hear or sense nothing, know that you have spent time alone with the Father, with the Son and with the Spirit. Sometimes, no words need to be said. Sometimes, it’s enough to just be with someone.
Hopefully, these suggestions will help you begin a newer, deeper walk with God.
Conclusion
In our world, it’s not easy to be still. We want to be in constant motion, doing, being, achieving. We need to remember, though, that in every believer’s life, the most important achievement is the one of knowing God.
Be still, and know that He is God.
© 2018 Glynn Beaty