...being still.

 

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).

I woke up this morning thinking of my mother who has been absent since 2005. This year marks the 20th since she left us to be with the Lord. She always had a saying for everything. She always reacted with a metaphor, or there were certain phrases that she repeated frequently, whenever necessary. My own children are victims of my repetitions of my Mom’s sayings.

Today, in particular, as I read Psalm 46, when I came to verse 10, I read, “Be still, and know that I am God”. I could hear Mom saying, “Conchita, be still!” Well, I was always a restless child with a very short attention span, and this exasperated my mother often, who, when she came to the end of her rope would scream, “Stay still, please!”

To be still we need to stop. Stop the hurried pace of our lives. We need to set aside the noise, the distractions, and the strange voices that ring constantly in our ears and do not let us concentrate on the most important things. We need to empty our minds of all that only comes to disturb and make us doubt the God that had said in the beginning of the Psalm, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.” (v.1-2a).

When we are still, we can listen better, pay more attention, and react better. Restlessness only leads us to do things on the fly, and since we are not always aware of what we do, the consequences are often not good. But in the stillness of resting on the unconditional love of God, we can reflect, think wisely, and stay in communion with our Father.

As I write this, the news stations are reporting on the apocalyptic fires in the city of Los Angeles. We have heard stories of heroism and have seen interviews of people who have lost everything and are now totally disoriented about their next step. This got me thinking, what does a person do when suddenly they see themselves totally impotent before the reality at hand? Yes, we know human beings are resilient, they will rebuild. The entire country will now mobilize to help. We know it well. But all of that is in the future as immediate as it is. What happens in that moment, that split second when panic rises to the heart?

I am not trying to patronize such a terrible situation, nor devalue a tragedy such as this. On the contrary, that is why that was my first thought. Is there an answer for it?

Amid the desolation, chaos, and violence, God says, “Be still”. Be still. Stop. Throw out everything that is in the way of thinking, because the verse continues. God will not leave us without an answer, and He always fulfills His promises. “Know that I am God.” See what I will do. Be aware of my power, my wisdom, my love for you. Know that only I can take something that at first sight is seemingly unsurmountable and turn it into something beautiful and wonderful for you and your loved ones. Only I have the resources needed to right a wrong. Only I. Only I am the great I AM, and “I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth” (v.10b).