“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
This verse has always been a tough one for me to put into practice. I am a chatty, energetic, and some may say, squirrelly, extroverted, curious woman and I have never been one to sit under a tree for an afternoon and ponder my thoughts in a journal. Don’t get me wrong, I wish I were more like that sometimes. But it’s just not me. It’s not the way Jesus wired me. So the concept of being still often sounds to me like being put in “time out.” Or like the feeling of being shushed in the library (story of my life – you will never find me there on purpose.)
But Scripture isn’t written for specific temperaments only. So I know this verse is for me, and not to corner me into feeling trapped in a straight jacket. It is written to speak life over me and draw me into a greater trust in my Creator. So in order to see this passage for what it truly calls us to, let me explain a deeper meaning I recently discovered that made me cling to this verse instead of squirm.
In his commentary, John J. Parsons says this, “The command to be still comes from the Hebrew word rapha, meaning to let go, to release, to become weak, which might be better translated as “cause yourselves to let go” or “let yourselves become weak.” Another commentary I read said “be still” could also be translated as, “to fail.” What is amazing is that this word also comes from the same root as the Hebrew word for doctor, rophe, which means to cure, cause to heal, repair or make whole. When I read all of this, my first instinct was to say the verse aloud with this new meaning:
“Let go and know that I am God.”
“Embrace your weakness and know that I am God.”
“Allow yourself to fail and know that I am God.”
“I am the Healer and I am your God.”
Knowing this deeper meaning has changed the way I will read this verse forever. God isn’t asking me to sit still and be quiet and do nothing. There is an action. There is an invitation. He is asking me to let go. He is asking me to embrace weakness. I am being told that I can do my part imperfectly because He is God and He is perfect and He can be trusted.
I don’t know how this speaks to you but for me, there’s just so much. I am reminded of the time out analogy I mentioned before except this time, I see it differently. Instead of seeing this command to “be still” as a punishment, I see it as an instruction of love and care.
Many times children are put in time out because they are fixated on something that is no longer good for them when they are disobedient to their parent. The picture God gave me of this was a child who won’t give up a toy. Sometimes God is asking us to let go and be still and maybe cry ourselves into a fit in the corner until our hearts are settled. We need those moments of being forced to pry open our white-fisted knuckles. We need some time to see that we will survive without whatever we are holding on to so tightly.
So here is my confession. You know what I am holding on to? Perfectionism. I am causing myself to be such an anxious hot mess I am making myself physically ill and not allowing myself to enjoy the journey or embrace my weakness. I cannot fathom reading the verse this way, “Fail and know that I am God.”
But that is exactly what He is speaking over me.
Let go, Brianna. I never asked you for perfection. I asked for your obedience. Your pride will ruin your calling. Your expectation of self will hurt you and those you love. You desire to be strong and independent when I desire for you to cling to me and find rest.
I don’t want to throw any more tantrums when God asks me to be still. I want to find solace in this passage and hold the hand of Jesus, doing this life with Him together. Letting Him walk ahead of me, not rushing past Him to then turn around, asking where He is. I want to let Him have His way and not get in my own way anymore. The enemy knows that when I let go, I am free. So He will keep at it, trying to convince me to live my life on a hamster wheel of proving myself and “getting it right” when all the while, Jesus is rejoicing over me and asking me to join Him on this wild ride, trusting He will make up for what I lack. And what is counter intuitive but true, is that embracing our weakness is attractive. It’s what we all crave so that together we can all sigh in relief that God is God and we are not.
There is a world around us wondering what it is about our God that causes us to follow Him. And I believe the heart of the gospel message is this: we embrace our weakness and confess our need for Him. We humbly stand in awe of His perfection and proclaim that we are free.
Let Go. Release. Embrace weakness. Know that He is Your God.