Why is this so Difficult, GOD? “I Know… Let Go”

Written by James Foster

In all of the stuff your hands, tears and frustration have touched and reached out to, your Creator wants you, dear woman of creation, to “trust Him and not “yourself.”  "Be still and know that I am GOD."  …TWO words and one ADONAI – The Command to "harpu" is the detail of the action from the verb it is born from – "raphah." 

As the LORD GOD uses them together in Psalm 46:10 we see a bit clearer that He wants us to recall Who He is and understand that He is capable to handle all of it Himself. 

Let go of your ‘perceived control.’

 

Here are a few more descriptive words that come from those other (2). 

  1. let go

  2. release your grip

  3. cease striving

  4. relax

  5. stop fighting

  6. surrender

 

Consider the rounded (more complete) sense of Psalm 46:10. We English speaking folk tend to plug our words into the language and culture of the people who wrote (transcribed) it all down. “Be Still” is not just "sit quietly," but "let go of your striving. release control, stop fighting AND RECOGNIZE that I am [GOD]."

 

This very pointed and specific Command to become silent, take your hands off and even MORE so, an invite for you to abandon flesh and fear and take your confidence to Him!

 

"Be Still and Know" – Steven Curtis Chapman

https://youtu.be/M-4K_vGs_lw?si=j7jK1Za52XGTRKoJ

 

I was able to locate some imagery that speaks rather well about this. Consider a weary soldier or a person holding onto something with white-knuckled intensity and finally loosening his or her grip to let it drop. 

 

NOTE: Looking at the Biblical context, this definition is plural. We can now see that the Powerful GOD is not just talking to one anxious individual. He is issuing a communal Command to the warring nations and roaring kingdoms of the psalm.  In verse (10) He spoke “Stop striving and know that I am GOD. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted on the earth.”

 

REMINDER: In English, "be still" often sounds like an invitation to sit quietly in meditation, but the actual langue speaks in a much pointed and punchier way.  

 

NOTE: When you stop walking and approaching your world the way you have “…and know that He is Who He says He is, I am confident that He will also be exalted in your marriage, life, home and relationships as well.

 

As those areas of your struggle are turned over to Him, the people around you will turn to trust Him as you did.

James Foster
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