Be Still and Know (Psalm 46:8-11)

Intro

Are you so overwhelmed with your life right now or do you feel like when one problem closes that another problem arises in your life? Or are you so caught up or busy in your life right now that you forgot or you lost sight of what you're truly supposed to live for? If this is you, or if you fall into one of these three categories, whether you realize it or not. God through Psalm 46:8-11 is either giving us a message of hope or reflection.

Let us Pray.

In today's sermon, Psalm 46:10 focus. we’re going to accomplish three tasks. First, define what Be Still means. Second, understand what Knowing God means. Finally, tying these two concepts together for us to overcome or grow our faith in this moment.

And the psalmist here explains to us why we need this verse, why we need to understand this verse at our point of our life. Be still and know that I am the Lord. Before we dive deeper, we have to clear some misconceptions of what Be still means.

What does it mean to be still? For example, when suddenly a bee is buzzing around, What do people say? They say stop moving! If you move or flinch, you're just going to provoke the bee or whatever is around you. So you just got to be still, right? And that's when we usually use that term or when you're getting a shot, right? The doctor says, okay, be still, don't move, or the shot is going to hurt more than it actually.

Right. And that's when we technically used to be still, but the phrase be still and its original meaning does not mean for you to sit back, kick your feet on top of the table, and just hope that God is going to accomplish.

A lot of people have that misconception when we say we have faith in Jesus, that we're going to take a step back and just trust that Jesus is going to accomplish something for us. We have this misconception or some people have this misconception that they think that they can just sit around, do nothing, and hope that God is going to accomplish something for them.

That's not what this means. That's not what we're going to talk about today. So let’s clear that misconception. And let's learn truly what the truth of the phrase be still and know that I am the Lord means.

And so we see first what this means In verse eight-nine, it says,Come, see the glorious works of the Lord: See how he brings destruction upon the world. He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; he burns the shields with fire.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the God that we have faith in. This is the God that we trust in our lives. Do you have faith that this is the mighty God, the marvelous God that is walking with you in your daily lives?

Do you tremble in fear of the problems and the uncertainty that's in front of you or do you go out in boldness, in faith, knowing that this marvelous God is walking right next to you?

And so we come across this verse. Furthermore, in verse ten, and it says first, BE STILL

This is the first part of what we're going to talk about. Be still. What does it mean to be still? Be still means to literally to stop striving (stop putting so much effort - into something meaniningless and temporary), and there is also a metaphor associated with the Hebrew word that means to put your hands down by your side. Position of Attention Example.

How do we stop striving? It means to stop living by our own terms and by our standards. Rather, put everything in front of Jesus’ feet. It is an act of surrender, whether you life it or not. Instead of trying to find what must you do, ask God to show you how He is working around you.

Know that I am Yahweh is a phrase that is repeated numerous times in the Old Testament, especially in the book of the prophets.

Know that I am the Lord. Everything that God does. He says, know that I am the Lord. God knows this is the most important lesson that we must learn in our lifetime. Because if we lose sight of this and we lose sight of what we're living for in our lives, then life becomes meaningless. Yahweh, love God with all your strength, mind and soul.

This past week, in our daily Scripture reading, we started and opened up the Book of Daniel. Daniel, as you know, and his three friends were foreigners who were captured when Babylon took over Israel, captured and took captives. However, King Nebuchadnezzar allow some princes and royal families of Israel to join him on the royal floor. Daniel and his three friends were one of them.

Daniel was a foreigner in this unknown country called Babylon. Yet, he was also a captive. He did not know when his life will be taken from him. But if you read the book of Daniel, you will see the Daniel did not just stand around or sit around and hope that God will accomplish something for him.

Nebuchadnezzar invited royal families of Israel, to dine with the royal floor of Babylon, but he said, you must eat the food of the royal house. What I proclaim is the royal seal. But what did Daniel say? Daniel said, No, I am not going to eat this food because it's unholy. I'm not going to touch it. But it was the king's decree. He should have died at that moment. But by the grace of God, Royal Guard said okay, I'll give you a chance.

Show me what you're talking about. Daniel said, Give me ten days and see the comparison of the foods that we eat compared to the royal food that is provided. And ten days later, what happens? Daniel and his three friends ate the diet that they picked and their skin looked healthier and better nourished, compared to the other people.

As mentioned above, Do you remember what Yahweh means?

Yahweh is our Savior, not a savior that we hope will come and save us. But your actions and your words, you have to show faith to God, showing him that you accept Him as Lord and Savior of your lives.

Secondly, in the second part of Chapter ten, it says, Know that I am God. The word know here is an active command and not an emotion. We know that God is the creator of the universe. We know that God brings life to death. We know that God is almighty.

We all know that when the small hand on a clock lands at six and long hand at 12, then it is 6PM. We know our neighbors next to us. We know the directions from our homes to the church.

“The connotation of the Hebrew verb ‘knows’ generally signifies the most thorough and/or intimate knowledge (often described as a thorough experiential knowledge) of what is known,” says The Moody Bible Commentary

God proclaims and commands us to Be still and Know that He is God for the benefit of our lives. Because when we do, I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. What is the role of our Christian? The moment that we find success in the world does not define that we are blessed. Through the song we sang today, we proclaimed that we are the child of God.

Every single one of you are already, blessed in your life right now because you are a child of God. So remember, always think, be thankful that you know God is because there's people out there that who can not in their life, although they may look luxurious in the eyes of the world, their inner life is just filled with despair and uncertainty.

But we are God’s child.

And through our life, it said, I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. You know what happens in the book of Daniel? KING Nebuchadnezzar had this dream that disturbed him very much. And he so he calls every magician, every spirit, every wise man throughout the kingdom of Babylon that says, tell me what my dream is and interpret it for me.

None of the magicians or wise men do that. They said, unless it is God Almighty, no one can accomplish what you ask of us. Daniel said. Give me a day. And Daniel gathers his three friends and he says, Let's pray. Let's see what the God of wisdom provides for us. And God explains to Daniel the dream of the King.

And He explains it. And Daniel unravels the truth for King Nebuchadnezzar. And what does he do? He bowed right in front of Daniel and says, Your God is the one and only God.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is our life, God's plan of salvation to save His people. Then his grand plan is to be a part of that through our life, our actions and our words that unbelievers may come to glorify God. That's what we're striving for, not being still, not just standing around.

We need to have boldness of faith in obedience, like Daniel. We have to pray ourselves down and allow God to support us. But we strive our whole life striving for happiness. What is God saying at the end of it all?

He says, Look to me. Can I tell you the secret to happiness? God says. He says, don't look anywhere else. Look to me. [Play Song]

James Burton Coffman, a famous bible commentator said the following:

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Many times it is God’s will for his people to work with all their might; but, now and then, when all human endeavor is of no avail, and where there seems to be no hope at all, it may be time to “Stand still!” Thus it was before the Red Sea, when Moses commanded Israel, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exodus 14:23📷).5

Brothers and sisters. This proclamation that God is here among us. Remember it and cherish it. Our savior and God is with us every single step.

V11. Because The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress.

So, dont be afraid or worried about what is in front of you and what is ahead. The Lord of Heavens is with us step by step. If you remember the word Shalom, in the book Ethics as Worship, states that the deeper meaning of this term means an inner harmony, wholeness, or sense of completeness that results from living a life rightly ordered to God in the manner that he designed.

All of us live an upright life firmly rooted in God as His children, as we proclaimed and sung. We already have the inner harmony or sense of completeness in us because we are centered on God. Do not let the world take that away from you. Rather, put your hands by your side and let God lead you through the storms, but you will remain in the eye of the hurricane overwhelmed with harmony and sound peace. Amen.

Let us Pray