A PSYCHIATRIC report shows that in the examination of more than 70,000 cases those with religious convictions had better integrated personalities than those with none. We need faith in Jesus to help us to "be still, and know" that He is God. As workers for God we must remember and help our congregation to remember also that we cannot have faith when we need it unless we have it before the need arises. And it is vital that we understand fully what it means to "be still" and to wait upon the Lord.
One of the hardest lessons to learn in life is the art of being quiet in time of stress and strain. Human nature rebels against the words "be still." We love to talk, we want to be heard, we want others to listen to us. We feel insulted if we are told to "be still." But silence helps us to know and understand God better.
The words "be still" literally mean "let be," "desist," "give up." And we might add, "hush," "stop your tumult." Why? Because of the words, "I am God."
Looking at our text, found in Psalm 46: 10, "Be still, and know that I am God," we find that it teaches more than quietness; it also conveys the idea that we should get rid of tension in the life. Since the Lord desires to help us get rid of tension, we should pray:
Prince of Peace control my will,
Bid this struggling heart be still;
Bid my fears and doubtings cease,
Hush my spirit into peace.
God is eager for His children to enjoy the quietness that alone is found in His presence. He asked Job, "When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?" (Job 34:29).
There is nothing so destructive and damaging spiritually as worry and fear. One of the outstanding signs of true greatness is quietness in face of hardships, trials, and reverses. Often misfortunes come because we do not know how to live quietly, how to be still at the proper time. Someone has well said, "Stillness of person and steadiness of features are signal marks of good breeding."
Perfect Peace an Attribute of Heaven
What lessons we as workers can learn from the Master! The quietness of Jesus baffled His enemies. Quietness of soul is the acid test of life. The words "When he giveth quietness" indicate that we cannot ring about quietness through our own achievement; it is a gift from God. "He giveth quietness." All the troubles that others may bring upon us are only external. They cannot reach and destroy the inner quietness of the heart when Christ dwells within. The promise is, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee" (Isa. 26:3). We read, "Inward peace and a conscience void of offense toward God will quicken and invigorate the intellect like dew distilled upon the tender plants. The will is then rightly directed and controlled, and is more decided, and yet free from perverseness. The meditations are pleasing because they are sanctified. The serenity of mind which you may possess, will bless all with whom you associate. This peace and calmness will, in time, become natural, and will reflect its precious rays upon all around you, to be again reflected upon you. The more you taste this heavenly peace and quietude of mind, the more it will increase. It is an animated, living pleasure which does not throw all the moral energies into a stupor, but awakens them to increased activity. Perfect peace is an attribute of heaven which angels possess."—Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 327.
Jesus says to His ministers today as He did to Peter and John of old, "My peace I give unto you" (John 14:27). Peace and quiet are twin allies. God's peace in the soul produces quietness. We must know by experience that the way of escape from the turmoil and unrest in the world is found in the peace He alone can give. Although there is no escape from the uncertainties of life, thank God there can be and there will be relaxation of those inner tensions when the Prince of Peace rules supremely in our lives.
As workers in God's cause we would do well to restudy the Psalms, for they are full of wonderful promises. Many were written, as we know, during times of distress and peril. Listen as David said, "Leave it all quietly to God, my soul" (Ps. 62:1, Mof-fatt).* When we face serious problems that cause grief and uneasiness of heart read these words of Israel's hunted king, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry" (Ps. 40:1). Pondering these expressions it is wonderful what a change will come into our lives. Here is quiet and peace for the troubled heart.
Jesus said, "My peace I give unto you," and He assured us that His peace is to be our personal possession and that it is far different from that which the world giveth. The world's peace vanishes in the presence of sin and sorrow. Christ is the only One who can say, "Thy sins are forgiven thee." He gives joy in place of sorrow, and the result of this is quietness of heart and life.
Someone has said, "The secret of calm is to turn the current of the being to God, then it is like a sea at rest." If we stop and analyze these words we find helpful suggestions. Notice, the secret of stillness of soul is obtained when we "turn the current of the being to God." What does this do for us? The answer is clear, the current becomes "like a sea at rest." We must lean upon God.
David learned this secret, and he said to his own soul: "Leave it all quietly to God." The Lord is displeased when we live day after day with troubled hearts. We must learn that there is no peace or quietness apart from Christ. God says, "There is no peace ... to the wicked" (Isa. 57:21). Some seek peace in the pleasures of the world, but they soon learn to their sorrow that "the way of peace they know not" (Isa. 59:8). Others try to find peace by self-righteousness which proves to be nothing but "filthy rags." Only as we commit all our affairs to the will of God can we appreciate the words "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7).
God's Grace as the Dew
The dew that waters the flowers and grass during the quiet evenings does not distill in wind or storm. Just so the dews of God's grace come to the souls that are calm and trustful. If our hearts are to be filled with joy and quiet we must hold still. It was Cecil who said, "The grandest operations, both in nature and grace, are the most silent and imperceptible. The shallow brook babbles in its passage and is heard by everyone; but the coming on of the seasons is silent and unseen. The storm rages and alarms, but its fury is soon exhausted, and its effects are but partial and soon remedied; but the dew, though gentle and unheard, is immense in quantity, and is the very life of large portions of the earth. And these are pictures of the operation of grace in the church and in the soul."—In The New Dictionary of Thoughts (1955 ed.), p. 518.
Israel's experience at the Red Sea teaches the importance of giving heed to the words, "Be still, and know that I am God." When the Israelites left Egypt they were pursued by the Egyptians and were nearly overtaken when they reached the Red Sea. When they saw the enemy drawing near they turned on Moses with all their fury and blamed him for the predicament in which they found themselves. They angrily said, "Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? . . . For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness" (Ex. 14:11, 12).
Listen to Moses' response to these accusing, angry words, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (verses 13, 14).
God performed a great miracle by dividing the sea and permitting His people to pass over on dry land. And what happened to the enemy that followed God's people? The record says, "And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them" (verse 28).
After this wonderful deliverance "the people stood in awe of the Eternal, believing in the Eternal and in his servant Moses" (verse 31, Moffatt).* How much better it would have been if their faith in God and His deliverance would have been such that they could have quietly waited, without anger, for His hand to save them.
This experience should impress us with the truthfulness and beauty of the promise recorded in Psalm 107:29, 30: "He maketh the storm a calm. . . . He bringeth them unto their desired haven." In these verses we also find this beautiful thought expressed: "Then are they glad because they be quiet" (verse 30). Gladness of heart does not come because of our much speaking but because of quietly waiting upon God to work out His will in our lives. As the waters of sorrow, adversity, and sin roar about us and our troubled hearts seem to crush, let us place our hand in the hand of God and quietly listen to the words, "Above the voices of many waters, . . . the Lord on high is mighty" (Ps. 93:3, 4, R.V.). As we minister the Word to our congregations, let us assure them that we have a safe Pilot who will guide us safely home, regardless of the storms that may arise. "Be still, and know that I am God." May the prayer of our hearts ever be:
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease,
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
—John Greenleaf Whittier
* From The Bible: A New Translation. Copyright by James Moffatt, 1954. Used by permission of Harper and Brothers.
