Be Still and Know That I am God

     This morning, before I got out of bed, I prayed for all of the chaos in the world. The chaos is not only in our own country, but in many parts of the world. I could start listing the places, but I think each of you are aware of what I am talking about. This chaos is reflected with violence, destruction and pure evil.

     Who is the author of all of this chaos? It is the evil-one himself, the devil. This is Satan’s goal; to bring ruination to the world. We are seeing him at work is two distinct ways; 1) the mass destruction of people, who are created in God’s image. Two examples, among many are the mass slaughter of Christians in northern Nigeria and the brutality of the Iranian regime upon its own people. 2) The distortion of morality, which Isaiah says, as a spokesman for the LORD, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness” (Is. 6: 20). In other words, the moral compass is turned upside down. There are many examples I’m sure you can think of in the US where this is true.

     After my prayer time in bed, I got up and had my quiet time. The scripture I “happened” to read was Psalm 46. The first verse sets the tone for the whole psalm. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” As I continued reading the psalm and turned the page of my Bible, I was smacked in the face by the Lord. The first part of verse ten states, “Be still and know that I am God…” The reason this verse was so profound in the moment was because it reminded me who is in charge. Yes, there is chaos in the world and yes, it can be disconcerting, but the psalmist says, “Be still and know I am God.” We must stop and reflect on who God is in order to gain the right perspective on what is happening. From a human perspective, it looks like Satan is wreaking havoc. In one sense, he is, but our God is in charge. As the end of verse ten states, “I [LORD] will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The story is not over and our hope lies in knowing who God is.