"Be still, and know I am God". This verse in the Bible is found in the Book of Psalms. The actual verse is Psalms 46:10. Be still. It seems like such a simple thing to do, a request made, or even a suggestion to some, but that's not what it is at all. Different commentaries have various opinions of what that passage is really talking about, and the best one I found was the meaning that God Himself gave to me when I was moved to teach this passage during my stint as a Professor of Ethics at a larger community college in Indiana. I wanted to bring God into the mix, but do so in a way that wouldn't offend the administration to the point of terminating my contract. The things we have to do as Christians to just "get around" the rules so we can bring about the mention of God are incredible.
I've read many opinions and as I said, commentaries on this particular verse, but the one thing that everyone has to say about it is that God is the one who gave the message to the Psalmist. God is the one who is to be heard. God is the one that spoke the words, not David, not Solomon, not another song writer. When I see these words I am moved to not move. I am commanded, not given a suggestion. I am told to do something, not asked to do something. I am shown a way, not given an escape path. God said each word and each word can be taken quite literally.
From an Ethics point of view, and therefore, a philosopher's point of view, let's take each word separately, shall we? "Be". What does it mean to be? Rene DeCartes says that we are because we think. "I think, therefore I am". We must first realize that we are before we can be, and if we are, then we can put forth the effort to realize that we are in this place, this world, this existence, and we can actively "be" in it. We are breathing, we are alive, we may not all be at the same level of health, not by any means, but we are able to realize that we are living and we do take up time, space, and matter - - so we can "be". The act of being is not an easy feat; it required a Creator. That's the point God is making, not the point He is trying to make. God doesn't try to make anything - - He made it. He is God. Whether we accept Him as so is not the point at all, He still is. We are to be in that realization that we are because of Him.
"Still". Be still. What does it mean to be still? What are we to be? We are to be still. This can be translated into words such as "calm", "relaxed", "rested", "meditative", "open", and it can also be translated into a form of awareness like the word "be". We are to realize we are not in charge. We are to open ourselves to the fact that God is ultimately in control, not that He wants to be or should be, but that He is in control. When we figure that out, we'll be so much better off than we were before we realized it.
The word "and" is merely a connective word, you are to do two things at one time. First, you are to "be still" and then you are to "know" something. KNOW. What are you to know? Knowing is not guessing, knowing is not thinking, knowing is not hoping, or assuming, but knowing is in fact grasping the understanding of, or accepting the facts that something is real or factual. You know it, it is therefore truth. You don't know something and it is wrong. You may know something to be wrong, but it is in fact truthful that whatever it is that you know to be wrong is in fact true that it is wrong. Does that makes sense? Read it again if you need to. You KNOW something, therefore it is something. It is not partial, it is fully known.
What are you to know? You are to do two things in this passage. First you are to be still. Stop what you are doing, be calm, and then you are to KNOW something. What is it? You are to KNOW that God is God. He is God. He is "I AM". He said, "...know that I am God". Well, it could also be written more correctly as "I Am, God". Two names, same deity. I Am is how God addressed Himself to Moses. He said to tell Pharoah that "I Am" has sent you -- He didn't say "The God of Jacob and Abraham", He said "I Am" because Pharoah didn't recognize either Jacob or Abraham, and didn't know, wouldn't know who God was if Moses had addressed Him in that manner. No, God said "I AM". He told us the same thing in this verse. Be still, and know I Am. He then goes on to say "God". He is and always will be God. He is and always was and will be I Am. It's just such a powerful verse!
To reiterate the matter, and to underline the greater importance, we are nothing without God. He is and was, and He is our Creator. We are because of Him. We exist because He wanted us to. We are here now and will remain forever because that is His will, not ours. When people say God is some sorcerer in the sky, or He doesn't exist, I just want to laugh -- and then cry. My first reaction is an honest one; how can anyone say God isn't if they breathe air? Did they or someone they know create air? No, it was God. We can't walk, talk, move, function, think, or anything else without there first being a Creator to make us, it's basic, but it's the hardest thing to wrap our human minds around. We're such selfish beings.
When searching for the answers to literally every question there could possibly be, I am 100% confident when I say there is one method to finding the answer(s). Be still. Know He is God. If and when we are fully capable of giving up our issues, our worries, our problems to Him, we will live a really free life. I did this a number of years ago, and only wish I could have learned the lesson many years before I did. I have been so blessed and so touched by a loving God by this one verse. This one passage has led me through countless agonies and anxious moments; it's impossible to know exactly how many times God has been there for me because He is there every moment. It is constant.
Be still. The way I do it is to pray. I go into my closet, grab a handful of rocks, and I literally thank Him for the time and the ability to come to Him. I sit there, listen to Him, wait on Him, and I may sing a little hymn while I wait, but I am aware that the main thing I need and must do, is be. I must realize who I am in connection to who He is, and then realize that He always must come first in every way. That is a given - - and it's so easy to do once you realize you really have nothing to offer outside of a living and loving God who literally gave you everything just to be with you. Isn't that too incredible?
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