Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness … Meister Eckhart
You cannot find God if your soul is not quiet. But when our old nature is put under control, our spirit will rise and He will be found. The Lord said that He would be exalted above the heathen, but we must first exalt Him above our old soulish nature.
Ps 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
To know that God is God is to experience Him in the quietness of our heart. To have a relationship with Him we need to “be still” and let His peace fill us. Be still here means more than just being quiet, it carries the object of being relaxed and not trying; being idle and drawing toward. In Exodus the same expression is used and it means to be without anxiety; to be calm and trustful.
Ex 14:13-14 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
In the face of Pharaoh’s army rushing toward them, Moses told the Hebrews to fear not and stand still. The expression stand still in the Hebrew is better translated be steadfast, be firm. Consider that whole passage of scripture in which they had to stand still “all night long” while the wind blew to dry the seabed. While they were waiting the only thing between them and Pharaoh’s army was a pillar of fire. What a challenge!
Well, it has not changed today as the bride is in the same position, only the Holy Spirit and God’s angels stand between us and the enemy. And we are to cease from all our worry and strife amid the circumstances just as Israel did, to know Him as God. If we look at verse 14, we can grab hold of a real nugget; The Lord will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. During our battles, we only need to stand still in peace and let God be God, and that means we are to refrain from complaining.
Psalm 46 tells us that we are to know He is God (Ps 46:10a) by looking at what He has done in the world around us and in our life … that which nobody else could have done. Charles Spurgeon said: We do not know what God is, but we know that He is God; we cannot comprehend Him, but we apprehend this much—that He is God.
Being still before God is required if we are to hear His voice, because the shepherd’s voice is only heard by the sheep when they are listening … and not bleating!