Be Still And Know

“God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in time of trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains are carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling of it. Selah” (Psalm 46:1-3).

“Selah” in the Psalms is a call to pause, to contemplate what we’ve just read. Psalm 46 has three pauses. The first “Selah” brings awe that in the face of global calamity, God’s people have a Refuge, Strength, and Help in Christ.

The second “Selah” is that the waiting Church (Bride) has knowledge that her blood-bought redemption includes the Seal of His Spirit: her living Pledge of a coming Rescue… “God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early! The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The LORD of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge. Selah.”

The third “Selah” is a prophecy. One day we will call to those around us… “Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations He has made in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the battle-bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire.” Then the Lord Himself speaks… “Be still and know that I am God: I WILL be exalted among the heathen, I WILL be exalted in the earth.”

“Be still and know” is the heart of “Selah.” To all the evil we see around us, we can answer with calmness and confidence, “Our Deliverer is coming. Blessed are they who trust in Him! Selah.”

(Devotional by Lisa Cataford)