stop.

Stop. Collaborate and listen.
(Ice is back with a brand new invention?)

I wonder if Vanilla Ice had Psalm 46 on the brain when he wrote that.
Ok. Probably not.

In Psalm 46 God sort of re-assures us that He’s got it all in control. I LOVE it. The seas are raging, mountains quaking, kingdoms crumbling, wars raging. And in verse 10 He’s all “don’t worry, I got this.”

But not only does He “have this” but he tells us to just STOP.

Chuck Swindoll says this about this Psalm:
“One Hebrew term attracts me to this Psalm; a very small imperative, a terse command. Preceded by images of chaos- mountains sliding into the ocean cites under attack, breaking bows, and burning chariots – comes the absurd command, “Cease!” Raphah is the Hebrew term. It could be rendered: Relax. Be quiet. Quit. Do Nothing. When danger threatens someone, we might naturally panic as we shout, “Run!” “Duck!” or “Get out!” But God says “Cease.” Imagine someone calling into a burning building, “Do Nothing!””

I think this is hard for us, it is for me anyway. In the midst of the storm and the chaos to simply stop and submit to the one who knows how it is all going to end up. And I don’t even think it necessarily needs to be a storm in the sense of getting slammed with a bunch of negative things, they can be good things. Often I find myself torn in a gazillion directions getting bombarded by loads of good things wondering which one I should tackle first, spreading myself too thin. Often I put myself in the place of God thinking I need to do some amazing thing in order for this all to work out right. But the truth is I don’t. Like I’m really gonna save the world. I need to stop, “cease striving,” and trust all things happen in His time.

The Message version says it this way: “Step out of traffic! Take a long, loving look at Me, your High God, above politics, above everything.”

In the midst of it all he doesn’t command us to do anything, He insists us to step back and watch him in all his majesty work it together for his glory.

Be still and know that I am God.