“Be still”

By Virginia Brandt Berg

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). The Lord once used that Bible verse to drive home a vital lesson, as well as to demonstrate His ability to give specific, immediate guidance as we listen to Him in prayer.

I needed to get in touch with a woman whose address I did not have, and it was an emergency. Every part of my being seemed to throb with anxiety. I felt as though I would fly to pieces if I didn’t get some word to her. As I prayed about what to do next, suddenly a paraphrase of Scripture came to me. Just be still. Get quiet and know that I am God.

When I sat down, quieted my spirit, and asked the Lord to do something to avert disaster, He spoke to my heart. Just write a note and take it to the apartment where she lived before. Maybe she will have some reason to go back there or someone who knows where she moved will find your note and tell her to contact you.

So I wrote the note and went over to the apartment to deliver it. Just as I arrived, note in hand, up drove the very person I had wanted to reach but couldn’t!

Isn’t it wonderful how God is able to work things out? I learned then that, as God’s Word says, my “strength is to sit still” (Isaiah 30:7 KJV). In this mad rush that modern living has become, we have an even greater need for this divine stillness to bathe our souls in quietness. It is only when our minds and spirits are quiet and serene that we can come to know God. “Be still and know that I am God.”

How did my getting still make me “know that He is God”? His answering prayer in such a miraculous way demonstrated once again the wonderful truth that He is God.

Many people have the mistaken idea that the stillness this verse speaks of is a sort of controlled tension, a practiced poise, and that they can compress anxiety in some way. They may be able to do that sometimes, but if they do, it’s only a surface calm; inwardly they are a boiling cauldron. That isn’t the kind of stillness we are talking about! The stillness of God isn’t mere passivity. It’s a genuine stillness of spirit that brings about the greatest clarity of thought, and it is in that stillness that we come to know God’s will and plan.

I know from experience that divine stillness often comes through trials and testings. How can that be? Trials and tests subdue the soul, and suffering humbles the spirit. Are you going through a difficult time right now? Then get quiet and be still before the Lord, and He will show you how to get sweetness out of that difficulty. He will teach you wonderful lessons from it, but you’ve got to get quiet. It is in that sweet, still devotion that He is able to speak to your heart.

Not in the earthquake or devouring flame,

But in the hush that could all fear transform,

The still, small whisper to the prophet came.

Oh soul, keep silence on the mount of God!

Though cares and needs throb around like a sea

From supplication and desires unshod,

Be still and hear what God shall say to thee.

—Mary Rowles Jarvis

What shall the believer do in times of darkness? Sit still and listen. Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon his God. Let him just sit still, as the Scripture says—be still and listen. The first thing to do is to do nothing, to stand still. That goes against human nature, but that’s the wise thing to do. There’s a saying, “When you’re rattled, don’t rush.” In other words, when you aren’t sure you know what to do next, don’t rush blindly into anything, hoping for the best.

There have been times when I have run into a spiritual fog and I have wanted to do something so badly in my own strength. I’ve felt that I had to unsnarl the tangled wires or find the solution to a problem; that I had to do something. My human energy felt like it had to rush out and take care of the problem. But I have learned that while sometimes human energy may help a little, it is far better to anchor my boat and let it swing upon its moorings for a while and simply trust God!

Be still and see what God will do. It is when we are quiet and trusting in God that He can work. Worry often prevents Him from doing all that He can. If our minds are distracted and our hearts are stressed, we’re not in a position where He can do much for us. The peace of God must quiet our minds and bring rest to our hearts.