A Life-Giving Message

I forgot to relax for the last couple of weeks. I lost my reflective side and just went gang-busters into every project. I’m paying for it with deep, down fatigue that I can’t seem to shake. I have been thinking about the scripture passage in Psalm 46, “Be still, and know that I am God.” It led me to the depth of the entire Psalm.

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
Though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

This psalm encourages me to hope and trust in God, in God’s power and providence, and in God’s gracious presence with me in the worst of times. It sends me a message that God is a help, that God is always near. The river’s message is about the graces and consolations of the Holy Spirit, which flow through every part of my being, comforting my heart and my spirit. God promises that I shall not be moved. If God is in my heart, by his word dwelling richly within me, I shall be established, I shall be helped. So I will trust and not be afraid.

Being still has been life-giving for me today. No particular agenda on my mind. Nothing that has to be written or preached. I have savored the words of the Psalmist. And from that, I have become stronger.