“Be still, and know that I am God,
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”

It is important to note that this verse was not spoken in a vacuum, but in the midst of a psalm full of action, judgment, wars, struggle, promises, and joy. This should serve as both a very comforting and challenging reality.

It is comforting because this is where we live. We live in the midst of struggle and difficulty and uncertainty. So it is comforting to know that the call to be still and know that He is God is not negated by all our surrounding circumstance. To the contrary, the call to be still is needed all the more because of the vast uncertainty and difficulty that characterizes each of our lives. No matter your trial, the Lord still calls you to be still and know that He is God. To rest in the fact that He will be exalted among the nations, indeed, over all the earth.

This verse is challenging because it is not easy to trust the Lord in this way. It is not easy to rest in His sovereign goodness and power in the face of wars and difficulties and uncertainty. We are so apt to take matters into our own hands. To trust in our power to change things. And there might be times when we do need to change things. Yet even then, we are commanded to rest. To be still and know that He is God. To rest satisfied in the fact that no matter the evil or difficulty we face, He is seated on His throne and one day will make everything right.

The command to be still is a command applicable to each and every day. A peace of heart we are all looking for. And this peace can only be found when we entrust ourselves to a wise and faithful Creator, One who is actively seeking for us good and guaranteed to be exalted in and through and above all things. What is your trial today? What is your difficulty? Be still and know that He is God. He will be exalted among the nations. He will be exalted in the earth! Rest satisfied in soul. Cease striving and trust in the Lord.