He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
In a psalm of great encouragement in the midst of the tumult and trouble of this world, promising God’s protection and help, there is the word to cease striving, let go, relax (see NASB text and footnote in link above), be still, and simply know that God is God. And that God will make that known.
We think somehow that we have to take matters in our own hands, grab the bull by the horns, and get the job done. And there will be plenty for us to do when it’s all said and done. But it is God’s work, not our own. And this psalm puts the focus on God, and not on ourselves, or even on our part in what God is doing.
There is a time to simply step aside, be quiet and still, and look for what only God can do, not only in the world at large, but in ourselves, first and foremost. This call in the psalm is addressed to the listeners, or readers. It is a call to quit our own machinations, what we would say and do. And look to God. We can’t see the value of this, because we’re so used to looking on the plain of human endeavor, including and maybe even especially our own, so that we’re not even aware of what God is doing, since our focus is not on him. The fact of the matter is that we aren’t going to easily understand God’s hand in the midst of the affairs of life, particularly on the world stage. But what this psalm is getting at is God’s hand toward what will be the result of gospel, the good news in Jesus: God’s grace and kingdom come in our own world, as well as the larger world in all its tumult and trouble.
It is not about us, and what we’re about, and doing, but God. The word to us: Cease striving, be still, and know that God is God. So that we need not fear. In and through Jesus.