Psalm 46:10a "Be still, and know that I am God:" Spirituality is not about achieving. Spirituality is about knowing.... knowing God as He is, knowing ourselves as He knows us, and knowing the temporal world from the eternal's perspective. Naturally speaking, we are people of activity. In our walk with God, often we are looking for the fantastic. However, as we notice the verse of today is calling us to 'be still.' The idea of quietness is included, but that's not all. Many false religious attempts of man in producing stillness in the soul by trying to shut off their minds do not lead them anywhere near the knowledge of God. The idea also includes rest, but even that is not all. It is not difficult to figure out that so many lazy and 'eat, drink and be merry' attitudes in our world haven't brought man to the knowledge of the true and living God. So, what is stillness in Biblical terms? A study of the Hebrew word 'Raphah' in this text and comparison of its usage in other Old Testament passages throws an amazing light of what it means to be still. Some of the translations in such occurrences of this word are - to be made feeble, to be left alone, to drop, to shrink and to become slack. In Christian life, God allows our hedges of protection to be removed especially in angelic warfare (Refer Job 1). The purpose of divine hedges is not only to protect us from the warfare, but also to shut us in at a place where we can be absolutely alone with God. Hedges are made so tall that it becomes impossible for us to get out. How often we wish we could fly and jump over those walls and be in the midst of the noises outside. It shouldn't surprise us that God is so mysterious to our human minds. We don't understand His plans often. He seems to contradict Himself to our feeble minds. Despite the security of the promises in the Bible, we are brought into places of weakness and seeming loss. These are lessons of stillness. God is saying to us, "Be still." Or can we hear - "Be feeble," "Be alone," "Lose," "Give up"? In the presence of God, even the angels are called to drop down their wings (Ezekiel 1:25). The glorious, high flying, useful wings, at the moment just hanging down. In Hebrews 12:12, we see hands hanging down and knees made feeble by a loving chastisement of our Heavenly Father. We are told not to despise it, and to walk carefully so as to provide space for the lame to walk. So, what does it really mean to be still? Elizabeth Elliot uses a term 'negligent trust.' Carelessness produced by knowing this that the Father cares enough to be totally involved in our lives. Recognition that things which seem to hurt us are actually very useful for our spiritual well-being in the plan of God. Our real appreciation of God and this life is not in being expanded, but in shrinking to the smallest. Yesterday, Pastor Thomas Schaller referred to an illustration by G. K. Chesterton regarding two boys and wishes granted by a fairy. Paul wished to be made so big that he could easily traverse the universe and see it all. He became a giant and went around and found out that his bigness made everything so small that there was no beauty left to adore, only boredom. Peter was shrinked into a tiny pigmy. He could roam around in small patch of garden seeing things big and miraculous. Brothers and sisters, God is at work in making us small. He wants to reveal Himself. He wants us to get a real comprehension of this life and the eternal. When the devil tempted the Lord Jesus Christ, he assumed a big posture. The glorious Lord stood small before Him. He went upto the stillness of the Cross and won the greatest victory ever possible. The victory of the Cross is not the victory of activity, but the victory of being still.... That we may know that He is God. When the call comes to you to 'be still,' it is so much better to fall on our feeble knees, accept how lonely and unable we are, and stop working.. Let Him. PS - If you would like to enjoy a thought provoking spirituality quiz, then jump to our fun quiz page. You may also watch our YouTube videos. What about learning about life after death?