There are levels of knowing.
We can know childbirth is painful, but until we experience it, we really don’t know. We can know the first couple of months with a newborn bring sleep deprivation, but until we are awakened every 2 hours for 8 weeks straight, we really don’t know what lack of sleep can do to your body and your emotions. We can know a two-year-old will try our patience, but until we’ve gone head-to-head with a toddler’s independent streak, we really don’t know.
There is an intellectual knowing. And then there is an experiential knowing – a knowing that comes only by experience.
Be still and know that I am God. ~ Psalm 46:10 (NLT)
We can know of God and know who He is, but that’s not what this verse is talking about. The knowing in this verse goes far beyond knowing who God is.
The Hebrew word for ‘know’ in Psalm 46:10 is yada. It means:
- to learn to know
- to see
- to know by experience
- to make oneself known
Psalm 46:10 is talking about knowing God by experience. It refers to walking with Him day by day and experiencing His glorious presence on the mountaintop as well as in the valley. This is the deep knowing of spirit to Spirit.
When we cease striving – the phrase used for ‘be still’ in the NASB translation – we let go, we relax, and we take ourselves off the hook for making the world spin. Then, and only then, can we truly experience God. As we drop our driven-ness, abandon our need to be in control, and refrain from trying to make life happen, we begin to see God more clearly.
And He, in turn, makes Himself known.
When Jesus was walking toward Jericho, He passed a blind man who was begging at the side of the road. The man was persistent and kept calling out to Jesus, even after many told him to be quiet. But Jesus stopped and asked a question we should all seriously consider, “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man responded in a way we all should, “I want to see!”
I want to see.
I want to see Him more visibly, to hear Him more clearly, and to know Him more deeply.
But for that I need to be still.
God always wants to take us to new depths of intimacy with Him. In fact, scripture says we have been chosen to know God.
Would you find a time to be still today, so you can get to know Him better?
Reflections for Being Still Today:
Scripture for Being Still Today: ”But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the LORD. “You are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God–there never has been, and there never will be. Practice Being Still Today: Be still before the Lord today –whatever form that takes – and ask Him to make Himself known to you. He has chosen you to know Him.
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