Be still. Weaken. Abandon. Let go. To be feeble. Forsake. Sink. Become helpless.

This is the Hebrew meaning of ‘Be still’ in verse 10 of Psalm 46. I came across this some time ago and am reminded of it during our current move. We are moving countries for my husband’s work.

The phrase has often been described as ‘cease striving’ as well.

Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10a).

Having done this word study to see exactly what this means has been eye opening. I thought it was more ‘to pause’ or ‘to calm one’s self and reflect’.

Instead what I have come to understand is that I must surrender. To use the cliché, I must ‘let go and let God’. But I find that it is much more than that as well.

These words ‘weaken’ and ‘to be feeble’ remind me that it is in our weakness that He is strong. It is only when we get out of the way that He moves and works. It is when we step out of our humanity and let His divinity reign that we will be calm, still.

I think that when we do or act, we can forget that He is actually the one who leads the orchestra. We may be out of tune, skipped a note, out of tempo. But he is there, righting the rhythm. But we have to look up and check what the conductor is communicating to us.

He is God, Lord of all. He is the one who will make it turn out. He is the one who has begun a good work and will bring it to end.

The psalm is about the might of God. He is the strength, the fortress, the rock. He is all-powerful, within us, and is worthy to be praised.

Admitting how feeble we are puts Him back at the center of our actions, dreams, heart and mouth. The use of a command in this case, I am certain, should not be overlooked. It is imperative that we BE STILL and know that He is God. That knowledge must go beyond the head and move into the heart, and all that we are, al we say, all we do and think. He is God. He is to be exalted in the nations.

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