Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

The anesthesiologist said to me, “I am going to insert this needle into your spine and administer the anesthesia now. Be still.” The words scared me, I froze in fear. “Relax. You are tensing up your muscles and making it more difficult for me.”

The instruction “be still” did not produce the desired reaction. There is more to being still than just not moving. I had to trust someone I did not know. My back was to him, I had not even made eye contact. The doctor told me what he was about to do and that caused me to be tense.

Psalm 46 does not say what God will do, only that God will be exalted. No instruction is given, so how can we do anything but be still? Perhaps God doesn’t tell us what He is about to do because He doesn’t want us to be tense. Tension is a sign of lack of trust. It causes hesitation, stiffness and can result in the shakes.

Being still is perhaps one of the hardest things to do as a Christian. We are servants looking to serve. We are followers seeking to move. We have a calling and we want to respond. If we are not doing something, we feel unused. For most of us, we do not get to “be still” because in those moments God reveals Himself in power and majesty, He becomes exalted.

For most of us being still is only accomplished in our prayer closets. There God can speak to us in the quietness of our minds. That is so hard to do. The only thing busier than our hands and feet is our minds. Be still, do not be so tense, relax, trust, know God. Practice being still in your quiet time and perhaps, just maybe, God will ask you to “be still” outside the closet.

2 Samuel 22:31 As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.