Sermon snippet – Be Still
INTRODUCTION – One of the first verses I learned as a little boy was Psalm 46:10a: “Be still, and know that I am God.” At the very least, a perceptive and probably exasperated Sunday school teacher hoped that the memorization of these few words would help us to behave in class! It remains a verse that frequently arises in my mind. Let us consider three points drawn from this kind command.
- A PRIMARY GOAL OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS TO KNOW GOD BETTER
God is so good to us that when He tells us to do something beneficial (“Be still”) He also provides compelling insight into the reasoning behind the command. Here, we are encouraged by the certain outcome of knowing God more deeply. First, it is important to learn propositional truth about God, facts that are undeniable and unchanging. When reading Scripture, we should always be alert to statements about the character of God. Second, we must incorporate these truths into our relationship with God. Any good relationship is based upon truth, for we need to know about a person’s background, beliefs, and basic personality before we can enjoy a genuine relationship. Verse 1 provides a most helpful illustration of these two principles: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” We learn that an essential characteristic of God is that He is a sanctuary in any storm. Thus, we can further learn to seek His immutable shelter – a shelter that, like God Himself, stretches out into all eternity.
- BEING STILL IS NOT THE ONLY ASPECT OF KNOWING GOD
We do not want to be guilty of a part-for-the-whole fallacy and focus solely on stillness. No, there are other essential activities that increase our knowledge of God. For example, we are commanded to keep in step with God the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:25); active movement in the right direction is a must. Psalm 119:32a says, “I will run the way of Thy commandments”; this is intense, vigorous action. Paul uses similar athletic imagery in I Corinthians 9:24-27 regarding the necessity of self-discipline. Colossians 3:23 has long been one of my favorite verses: “And whatsoever yd do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” All of life, then, is an opportunity to learn of God and serve Him better.
- IT MAY SEEM COUNTERINTUITIVE, BUT WE NEED TO ACTIVELY SEEK TO BE STILL
In the original Hebrew, “Be still” means “Enough!” or “Just stop it!” – perhaps how you sometimes feel when I am preaching. How still do we need to be? We are busy people – and we get frantic just talking about how busy we are! In Nehemiah 6:14-15, we find a good illustration of balance. Nehemiah was leading the rebuilding of Jerusalem,certainly a demanding task. In the face of mounting opposition, he quickly found a moment of stillness, committed the matter to God, got back to work, and completed the construction in fifty-two days, which must be a record for a government project. Sometimes our times of stillness will be longer; sometimes they will be shorter; sometimes they will be right in the midst of our busyness. The presence of God the Holy Spirit is instrumental in helping us to determine if it is time to push hard, even to the limit, or to slow down.
CONCLUSION – Stillness is not a waste of time. We need to value it and find people, places, and activities that promote it. Let us grow in our appreciation of God the Son, Jesus Christ, Who is never too busy for us – Who was not too busy to die on the Cross in order to offer us His everlasting salvation.