The first time I remember hearing the verse “Be Still and know that I am God” was when I was a teenager at Short Mountain Bible Camp.  Because there were few campers from my small country church, we would simply tag along with another church for camp in the summers.  Mr. Herb was the leader of the week we spent at camp and was one of the kindest, most loving men I have ever known. He had a deep yet kind voice and often seemed to talk out of the side of his mouth ever so slightly.  I can remember vividly Mr Herb sitting all of us energetic campers down in the shade on top of a mountain. In front of us lay some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever encountered even to this day and Mr. Herb. After getting all of us settled and semi quiet, He loudly said the verse, “Be still and know that I am God.” Now even as I type this I can hear his voice and feel the heat of the summer sun. Along with over 100 young, very active campers, I sat in the itchy grass and stared at him trying to figure out where he was going with this.    He then asked us to then close our eyes and take a moment of silence to really ponder what that verse meant. To a young girl with an active social life, this “moment” was a challenge, but I genuinely tried to figure out exactly why God would want us to “be still”. That week, I came to the conclusion that maybe He wanted us to be still so that we could take time to notice the beauty that was all around us, not only in nature but even in the people we were with. I decided that “Be still and know that I am God” was an invitation to stand in awe of God’s magnificent handiwork. 

The next time I remember having these words to mind over and over was as a young adult. Staying busy was a way of escape for me. I was what I like to call, a late bloomer. I was a single woman watching my friends get married and start families of their own. In many ways, I felt stuck in life. Like I had somehow missed some invisible cue to move on to being a wife and mom.  So I stayed BUSY!  I loved to be on the go or so I told myself but the sad truth was that I felt like I HAD to be on the go. For me, I was so afraid that if I slowed down I would only feel the voids. I was afraid that stillness would make me even more acutely aware of the things I longed for but was missing in my life. One day, I went to paint pottery with some friends. That particular day, I decided to draw a tree and write the words, “Be still and know.” It was something that had been coming to mind often and so I decided to use it. This verse was still saw an invitation for me to stand in awe of God’s handiwork but I was also beginning to see it as an invitation to simply slow down.

Just a few years back, I was a mom of young girls and a wife to a soldier. I was trying (and feeling like I was failing) to be all things to all people. I can remember vividly thinking that “being a wife and a mother was all I had ever really wanted, so why was I so very bad at it?” The anxiety I felt on an almost daily basis was paralyzing. It was around the time that I started meditating… like you know, sitting upright, focused on breathing, meditating. I can remember trying to meditate on the words, “Be still and know that I am God.”  (Breathe in) Be. (Breathe out) still. (Breathe in) and. (Breathe out) know. (Breathe in) that. (Breathe out) I. (Breathe in) am. (Breathe out) God. It was calming. And it was one of the verses that helped me to feel centered when my brain was misfiring. Once again, I was invited to stand in awe of God’s handiwork. Once again, I was invited to slow down. But I also realized that it was an invitation to rest and reset, mind, body and soul. 

In life we have seasons. Some seasons we like better than others. We have highs and lows, peaks and valleys. Our most recent season has been some of my most favorite to date. I have loved watching my children grow into little humans with minds and thoughts of their own. I love watching them learn about God, navigate friendships, and overcome obstacles. I have loved watching my husband grow in his spiritual life! I genuinely love watching him become the man God has called for him to be. I love the friendship that we have created and the life we have together. But as a preacher friend once told me, “In life you are either in a hard time, coming out of a hard time or about to be going into a hard time.” Maybe this is a negative way of looking at life, but for me it reminds me that nothing is forever and that when life is good, I need to soak it all up! Every. Last. Drop!

Well, in the last few weeks, we have hit some very uncertain times. I know that God is with us and that He will take care of us, but in all honesty, I’m scared. Once again, God has been bringing this verse to mind. Unlike the times before, this time, I feel like I can hear God telling me, “Amy, you can be still.  Don’t you know that I am God? Can’t you see I’ve got this!” So one morning as I was at work and in between tasks and thinking on this verse, I decided to read the verse in context.

Psalm 46 reads: 

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.

Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

I love how David repeats, “The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress!” I think I needed to hear that twice too! Then suddenly, while standing in the quiet school cafeteria, it hit me. He IS GOD. He DOES have this. As a matter of fact, He always has and always will. In my striving, it is easy to think I can do it all by myself. But when I am still, like when I get really really still, I can see how very small I am, but also how He loves me, cares for me AND is WITH me!

When I am still, I stand in awe of His handiwork. I see it all around me. When I am still, I can slow down, rest and reset, not only my body but my mind and my soul. When I am still I can stand in the KNOWING that He is WITH me! When I am still, I KNOW that He IS GOD!