Be Still and Know

Something that God has been teaching me since coming to El Salvador is that I need to let go of the need to achieve. The pace of life in El Salvador is much slower. You live each day to survive and enjoy life. Schedules, if they even exist, are never booked every minute of the day. There’s time to slow down, to relax. It’s resulted in me having very little to do my first week here. In addition to a few ministry opportunities, I’ve had a lot of time to simply sit, read, watch some TV, and be with my host family. Sure it sounds nice, but coming from a culture like ours, it was a struggle. American culture is an achieving culture. I wasn’t achieving anything. I was useless. I’d flown thousands of miles, given up relationships, jobs, ministry, etc. to sit.

What I began to realize is that I take that same need to achieve into my walk with God; that as a Christ follower, I need to reach as many people for God’s Kingdom as possible. It’s the perspective that the more lives we reach the more glory we bring to God. While that’s true, it’s only half the puzzle.

What if we bring God just as much glory in solitude? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t reach out. I firmly believe that God has called us to do that and that it’s an essential part of our walk with Him, but our purpose is bigger than that. If I were the only person left on earth and my purpose is solely to reach others, suddenly I’d have no purpose. But if my purpose is simply to glorify God and I can do that in solitude, my life will always have purpose no matter what happens in the world around me.

Our culture is constantly on the run and we tend to get caught up in the whirlwind of ministry losing the ultimate purpose for our lives. We become so focused on others, that we forget the very one to who we’re trying to bring glory. We seem to think that the end of the Kingdom story is somehow dependent on us. How arrogant am I to think that the creator of the universe is somehow dependent on ME? This shouldn’t be a shock because the reality is… the war is won. God wins.

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

³ though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

⁸ Come and see the works of the LORD,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.

⁹ He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.

¹⁰ "Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Selah

(Psalm 46)

Right after God tells us, “Be still and know that I am God,” He says, “I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth.” It’s like He’s telling us, “be still, slow down, it’s ok… I’ve already won.”

So maybe I need to slow down, stop worrying about been “effective” and “achieving” things. And maybe, I need to learn that resting in God, praising God, and being with God, and simply “being still and knowing” is enough. Because reality is, our purpose shouldn’t hinge on what we’re doing, where we are, or whom we’re serving. Our purpose is to glorify God, in ALL circumstances and at ALL times.