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Daily Devotion: Psalm 46:8-11

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Psalm 46:8-11    "Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.  (9)  He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.  (10)  Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.  (11)  The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah."

"Come, behold the works of the LORD."  What do you think when you read of the great battles of the Bible?  Do you truly believe the God of the Bible is the same God of today? "He maketh wars to cease." Do you believe the Lord caused the people of Egypt to give their jewelry to the children of Israel? Do you believe when they thought there was no way, God opened the Red Sea to make a way? What about those times when God caused the enemy to become confused and turn on one another? Do you believe God gave the people of Israel a great victory in the days of Gideon simply by telling them to hold forth the light in the darkness and to cry out, "The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon"?  What about in the days of King Jehoshaphat? They were surrounded and could see no hope from within themselves? They cried out to the Lord and He answered them. Yes, He told them to go to the battlefield, but how long did they have to fight when they arrived? Or did they simply arrive to find that God had already won the battle and all they had to do was gather up the spoils of the enemy?

"Come, behold the works of the LORD."  Read verse two and think about the sovereign power of the Almighty God of Whom we belong. What struggle are you facing? What is it that seems to knock you back every time you try to take a step forward? Do you believe the Word of God? "Be still."  Oh, now there's a hard thing for us to do. The battle is raging all around us! The heathen are raging! They keep asking, "Where is your God now?"  What are we to do? "Be still."  That doesn't seem to be in our vocabulary at times. We are trained to be "fixers" of anything wrong that happens. We are programmed with the thoughts, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way. But do something!"  God says, "Be still."  That's a hard doctrine for the natural mind to receive.

"I know the Bible says to be still, BUT...."  But what? What am I supposed to do?  I can tell you that when I try to fix something, I make a mess. I can turn a fifteen minute job into a four hour mess and then still have to call someone to come help me.  "Be still."  What are we going to be doing while being still?  "Come, behold the works of the Lord. Be still, and know that I am God."   What is God going to do?  "I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."  Where is my source of peace in being reminded of this? The One Who says He will be exalted even among the heathen is the One Who reminds us, "The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah."  He is with us! He is for us!  We have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ - both eternally and daily. "Be still and know."

Yes, the people of Israel obeyed God by bringing light into the darkness. How are we to do that?  "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.  (14)  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:  (15)  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;  (16)  Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." (Philippians 2:13-16)  "Be still, and know."

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