Just a thought 6/3/08

[God] makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
[God] breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
[God] burns the shields with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth."

-Psalm 46:9-10

That little tiny sentence right in the middle of all that is one of my favorites, in some senses. But in other senses, it bothers me immensely. "Be still and know that I am God!" It sounds so simple to talk about. It looks great all written out. It sounds as if it ought to be easy.

But it's not. I think the more I try to "Let Go and Let God" the harder I find it. And even as I draw on my (admittedly rusty) knowledge of hebrew and am reminded that this literally reads "Cease striving and notice that I am God", I still find myself wondering where the solace is in this passage-- in real terms. Cease striving? Please! This whole life is made up of struggle and strife. But as I ponder it, I wonder if maybe the passage really means "Quit floundering about. Quit trying to make things happen in your way, on your time. Relax. God, who is so much bigger than any problem or any particular time frame, has it."

Perhaps I find this passage a little irritating because for a control freak like me, this seems like some pie in the sky dream. "Relax! Just go with the flow!" (Anyone who says these things to me probably doesn't know me well.) But just as I get irritated with the writer of this Psalm, I am reminded of a promise for people such as me--that comes from a completely differernt part of the Bible. It says, "If you decide for God, living a life of GOd-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomahc, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds." (Matthew 6:25, The Message)