By Carla Williams
“Be still and know that I am God.”
It’s a verse I learned at a very young age. It’s a calming verse. A call to silence and reflection and trust. It’s on greeting cards and coffee mugs and placards. It’s a catchy phrase we use to practice serenity.
You’ve heard it, too, right? But did you know that’s not the whole verse?
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 46:10)
Listen, I am the child and grandchild of preachers. I was correcting Sunday School teachers pretty regularly by the time I was in middle school (because I was that kid). I memorized whole books of the Bible. But I was several years out of college before I knew that verse had nothing to do with God giving me warm fuzzies.
It’s a verse about God – about Who He Is and What He Deserves.
This verse is not to help me through my personal trials – although it might do that, too. But mostly it gives me perspective. It’s as if God sees me fidgeting and whining about my own little world and He says, “Stop it. There are bigger things going on here.”
Because if my goal is not to worship God, and to see the whole world worshipping Him with me, I’ve got the wrong goal.
Psalms and The Nations
Did you know that Psalms mentions the word “nations” 72 times? Of course, some of those instances are referring to war and conquering, but even that points to a grander plan. God’s plans are global, and His reach is infinite.
God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
– Psalm 47:8-9
But a surprising number of the verses are about the nations turning to God and praising Him.
All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
-Psalm 22:27-28May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine on us—
so that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
May the peoples praise you, God;
may all the peoples praise you.
-Psalm 67:1-3
I could go on and on with examples, but I’ll let you look it up yourself. It’s fascinating!
What’s All This Mean?
God loves me. He guides me and shapes me and grows me and saves me. None of that is in dispute. But if my view of my relationship to God is confined to those truths, I’m missing the point.
The point is that God is worthy. Not just of my praise. Not just of the American Church’s praise. He deserves to have the whole world know and love Him. My worship isn’t enough. My growth and salvation aren’t enough. It’s only a drop in the bucket of who God is.
God is not my cheerleader. He’s not my personal trainer. He’s not even the coach. He’s the ultimate and supreme goal. If the Psalms have taught me anything, it’s that God’s view is big. It’s all nations. It’s every knee. It’s all of creation.
So while I’m being still, knowing that He’s God, I’m not going to let that be about me. It’s about Him, and anything else is just too small.
