Skip to main content

Be Still....

             He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” (Psalm 45:10)

 

            This is one of those verses that can benefit from multiple readings:

            “Be still and know that I am God.”

            “Be still and know that I am God.”

“Be still and know that I am God.”

“Be still and know that I am God.”       

“Be still and know that I am God.”

“Be still and know that I am God.”
            It would make a good exercise, to contemplatively read through these lines every morning for a week, or perhaps one each morning for a week to see how one’s understanding grows. Rather than put ideas in your head in that regard, let’s move to the next section.

“I will be exalted…I will be exalted…” If a human were to say these lines about himself, we would say that the person was arrogant. But if God is God, if He is the creator and Lord of Heaven and Earth, and if there is none who can rightfully (or actually) take His place, should He not be recognized as what He is? Would we say of the person who has won every chess game he’s ever played that he is arrogant to say that he is the best chess player alive, and should we be remiss if we reject that idea? If you are the owner of (name that object) would it not be silly and wrong for someone to say that  you aren’t or to treat the object and you as if that relationship did not exist? Should the thing you made (whether a sandwich or a piece of art) declare that it made itself, owes nothing to you, and deny you the right to do with it what you wish?

The dual claim of “I will be exalted” isn’t out of line unless it can be proved that He is not God. The thing about that is that when someone claims that God is not God, the someone making the claim is also claiming that he/she is.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Think About These Things

                 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8) This passage is a major challenge for me. Like everyone else, I struggle to keep my thoughts from wandering off into the weeds, then wondering what possible benefits those weeds might have… Sigh. But as a writer, I have to delve at least a little into the ignoble, wrong, impure, unlovely, and debased. After all, there’s no story if everything’s just as it should be and everyone’s happy. As Christians, there are times when we need to deal with all the negatives, but that makes it even more important that we practice turning our minds by force of attention to what is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. It’s just too easy to get stuck in a swamp. With my...
1 comment
Read more

Higher Thoughts

  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the  Lord . “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9)           The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments,   for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord      so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. (I Corinthians 2:15-16) If you read about the ancient gods of the various peoples, you’ll find that they think just like people. In fact, they think just like the sort of people we really wouldn’t want to be around. They think like the most corrupt Hollywood producer or, like hormone overloaded teens with no upbringing.   It’s embarrassing to read. I have a friend who argues that because God is not just like us, He is so vastly dif...
2 comments
Read more

Pure...

            The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (I Timothy 1:5)   I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16) I’m probably cheating - or mishandling the Bible, but earlier I was thinking about love being pure and purifying. And hatred being pure and purifying. And anger…joy…patience… fear… jealousy… courage…lust… and other strongly felt feelings, attitudes, and beliefs. Today’s verse brings purity and love together, so it’s the verse of the day, but it’s not really the focus. That means my motive for sharing it with you probably isn’t pure. As you read through my list, you   probably thought, “Yeah” about some, and “What’s she on?” about others. But consider how much hatred, a...
Post a Comment
Read more