Elijah at the Cave Hears a Still Small Voiceby nikilu
46:10Psalms 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
To be still is to stop striving and restless activity and idle talk, quieting the human will and submitting it to God rather than relying on self-effort. When other voices are hushed and earthly interests set aside, the silence makes His voice more distinct so a person may know Him and His will more clearly. In Him the soul thus stilled finds true rest and peace and joy and life. When facing a battle beyond human strength, that stillness means entrusting the whole matter entirely to Jesus and resting in His love and care while He fights for the one who can no longer fight. Such trust is sure because He is God and will be exalted among the nations and throughout the earth.
Meaning of Be Still
To be still is to cease striving, activity, self-effort and idle talk, quieting the human will and submitting it to God rather than depending on mere effort and busyness. In the home this means surrendering the will to God and letting the Holy Spirit govern the spirit, so that parents can work together with God. Before God it means becoming quiet, obeying His words and seeking the inward change needed to live for Christ. Under trial and testing it means not giving way to much talk but meeting what comes with calm trust in God while remaining kind, patient and self-respecting.
The command once meant literally to stop walking, when a troubled woman named Sister Israel, who had been walking and groaning almost continually, heeded the word, stopped, listened to the Lord, and the enemy's spell was broken. The stillness commanded is a solemn, abiding quietness of resting in God's presence. It is not a passing excitement or enthusiasm that soon fades into darkness, but the abiding influence of Christ.
In the presence of God people are awed and amazed, becoming still and recognizing that God is God. Because He is God and will be exalted among the nations and throughout the earth, His people can be still and trust Him. After Judah trusted God and saw Him deliver them from their enemies, they could sing this hymn with understanding, for God breaks the weapons of war, is present with His people, and is their refuge.
The works of nature give reason for this still knowledge, with sunlight, fields, trees, clouds, dew, night, moon and stars showing that God is the only true and living God and calling to meditation on the Creator.
Knowing God Quietly
To know God quietly the soul waits in stillness before Him with other voices hushed and earthly interests set aside, and in that silence His voice becomes more distinct so that a person may know Him and His will more clearly. This quiet waiting brings rest in His promise amid unrest and a true rest that refreshes the soul. It is the need of all under His training to have a quiet hour for communion with their own heart, with nature, and with God. That life is shown to be not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices, but gains a personal experience in which He speaks individually to the heart, and through Scripture and earnest prayer each person can learn His will and ways.
Witnessing His miracle-working power requires this quiet stillness that knows Him by faith. It perceives Him though He is hidden from sight, without seeing Him in person or demanding a miraculous revelation. A full personal revelation is impossible for mortals to bear and live, as even Moses could not receive it, so finite people are to trust the infinite God, to pray as if He were close by, and to walk with Him in darkness under the shrouding of His presence, with freshness and comfort of hope in Christ.
Knowing Him in this way does not mean defining what He is and what His prerogatives are or speculating about His nature. He cannot be defined or comprehended by the human mind, and such defining is not human work. It means reverently acknowledging what He has revealed, receiving and speaking only the words He gives, and loving and obeying Him as children while asking Him to teach His ways.
Stillness long enough to know that He is God is joined to prayer, to searching and personally applying His Word, and to praising Him rather than dwelling on personal hurts and difficulties. In Him the soul thus stilled finds true rest, peace, joy, and life.
Trust in Affliction
When the battle is beyond human strength, being still means entrusting the whole matter entirely to Jesus rather than struggling to manage it, relying on God and knowing that He is God. It means giving the whole case into His hands and letting Him fight for the one who can no longer fight the active, aggressive battle. The troubled one stops being troubled and rests in His love and care and blessing.
When no further step can be taken, the call is to wait and recognize that God is God, to rest in God and trust His care rather than worry about the future. When duty and trials press, stillness means acknowledging His sovereignty as one who acts not on personal authority but as an instrument in His hands. When causes for sadness increase and pressure hedges up the way, His people are to be still and settled and grounded in the truth, holding fast the Word of God and keeping prayer ascending without despondency. Such stillness holds a faith that grasps infinite power, with every soul united to the Source of all power as refuge and strength and very present help. Refusing fear and criticism, they continue the gospel as the great and only principle of the world's regeneration, confident that God is with them.
When His work faces difficulties, believers are to trust His plan and help, recognizing that their own state of mind is not a sure guide. They rely on His word and join faith and trust with the abilities He has given, working according to what He sees rather than what they can see. They rest rather than fear that deception has put His work in jeopardy or that the outcome of the conflict depends on them, walking by faith and leaving deceiver and sinner with Him who reads the heart and will deal with each in His own time and reward each according to work. In trial the soul should be quiet before God, setting aside worry and complaint and much talk, trusting and recognizing that He is God. Resting in Him and waiting patiently, the believer lets His voice become clearer while He guides into a gracious experience. Hearing this call deepens faith and enables overcoming, with testing met in calm trust while remaining kind and patient and self-respecting.
Souls troubled by doubts and fears about acceptance are called to grow quiet and know Him, leaving unrest behind by believing His promises to redeem and receive them. They please Him by confidence and trust rather than distrust, entering a harbor of gracious experience and rest in Christ, with His joy in the soul and rest in the arms of everlasting love. To the troubled it is assurance that God has not forsaken or forgotten, that approach to the heavenly Father with a child's trust brings a look to Him for peace. Committing everything to God in times of worry brings His peace, with assurance of His presence and sovereignty. The call is not to rush or struggle out of the Saviour's care, but to rest the matter with God and trust Him for help while seeking His light and counsel before acting.
Those waiting to recover strength are counseled not to hurry back into responsibilities but to wait patiently for the Lord, who gives rest and quietness. The exhausted may repeat the verse as a means of resting in God and trusting His care, since stillness before God and recognition of His rule bring comfort and help. Amid grief stillness restrains surrender to useless sorrow, since grief cannot bring the dead back or change what has happened. It supports accepting the dead as resting peacefully rather than wishing them back to life's struggles, while continuing work in reliance on Jesus. In loneliness, even when feeling very alone among many people and carrying a heavy burden, becoming still brings recognition that God is present. That quiet stillness gives quiet trust in Him as Helper and lets the lonely heart experience Him as helper.
Being still in God means resting in Him and being content in Him, enjoying the riches of His grace. It means resting in God at the cross of Christ even amid speaking and feeling sustained by a holy presence. Still trust refuses distrust and doubt, because God is present and can be trusted to guide and care for those who rest in His hands. He will work out every problem for the glory of His name and will defend His people.
Rest for Service
True rest is found in being still before God and knowing Him with a personal knowledge of His will. Amid the world's frantic pursuit of pleasure, money, power, and survival, and amid its agitation and consuming rush, God calls people to become still and commune with Him so they may know that He is God. Such rest refreshes the soul amid life's activity and brings peace and light that can reach others.
This quiet communion is the effectual preparation for all labor for God. When other voices are hushed and the soul waits in quietness before Him, the silence makes His voice more distinct in the heart so a person may know Him and His will more clearly. All under His training need a quiet hour for communion with their own hearts, with nature, and with God, showing a life not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices, and gaining a personal experience in which He speaks individually to the heart. Those thus refreshed amid the hurrying throng and the strain of intense activity receive a new endowment of renewed physical and mental strength, are surrounded with an atmosphere of light and peace, and live a fragrant life revealing divine power that reaches hearts.
Taking more time to rest in God as a Father who loves with deep and tender love, and repeating the call to stillness oftener than ever before in entire surrender, gives the soul needed rest and vigor to soul and body and contentment in doing the very best one can. That stillness yields spiritual life, which the whole world seeks but which can never be obtained without entire surrender. That life is contemplation of Him who loved and gave Himself, making life sweet and fragrant, keeping the mind clear, the temper sweet, and love abounding, letting peace flow out to bless all around with refreshing atmosphere and fragrant words, and giving power for unselfish Christian experience that teaches others to do good.
Those entrusted with responsibility must at times turn aside from active life to commune with God, listen to Him, and learn to know Him. As responsibilities and temptations increase they are to commune with God often each day, humble their hearts before Him, and act faithfully in work and personal accountability. This stillness keeps ideas and principles pure by the power of God, quickens the mind by divine power, keeps character uncontaminated by worldliness, and teaches faithfulness worthy of the trust committed. It enables one to bring the truth into business, let its maxims try the purposes of the soul, apply its principles to every transaction with unbending integrity and no guile, set affections on things above, and take Jesus everywhere as a light in the world. Stillness before God is a precious privilege of resting in knowing God and trusting in Christ's unfailing love; though a believer's love for Jesus may feel weak or changeable, Christ's love does not fail, and no one can separate a believer from Him.
Reverence in Words
In times of trial or perplexity stillness means pausing before God to think and pray before speaking, keeping silent instead of uttering hasty, unconsidered, harsh, scolding, or unjust words that grieve and injure fellow workers. Such quiet respect of one for another glorifies God on earth and brings light and joy to others.
When anger or provocation rises, the soul is to become still before God and acknowledge that He is sovereign, rather than pouring out sinful, angry words. Turning to the Lord in that quietness is how the soul comes to know God. That trust in God removes old habits and prepares a person to live out responsibilities faithfully.
When charged unjustly, a person can remain silent rather than answer back, trusting God instead of giving way to envy or revenge. Trials and tests are not to produce much talk but calm trust in God joined with kindness, patience, and self-respect. That quietness displays tenderness, sympathy, love, and a meek spirit precious to God.
Workers for God who face suspicion, criticism, and condemnation are to remain calm and trust God, answering with gentleness and quiet trust. They are to hide in Him as in the cleft of the Rock and in Christ as in the shelter of a rock, recognizing that He is God.
Those making decisions in council meetings are to remember that God is present and refrain from vain, loud, or impatient speech, approaching their work with reverence rather than as an ordinary business gathering. Church leaders must quiet self-confidence and cease relying on their own judgment, feeling their need to listen and learn from God. Deliberations are to be approached with humility under the Holy Spirit's guidance, since councils lacking that sense of need lack the Holy Spirit. Amid disputes over the work and its leaders, believers likewise are to be still before God and recognize His authority, stopping action on suspicions and personal imaginings and humbly trusting God.
True education requires being still and listening to God's wisdom with the quiet, humble attentiveness that comes from knowing God, rather than speaking boldly, fluently, and noisily without understanding. God requires stillness and reverent knowledge instead of ready speech without depth of experience in the things of God and without having learned the lesson of the past. Noisy words are like a brawling brook that makes the most noise because it lacks depth.
In the home the same stillness means quieting one's own will and submitting it to God rather than relying on mere effort and activity, allowing the Holy Spirit to govern the spirit so parents can work together with God. Parents are to still their anger and rule their spirit in recognition of God's authority. Gentleness and reliance on God's grace soften harshness of character and enable parents to govern children by love rather than force.
God Exalted Everywhere
God's people can be still and trust Him because He is God and will be exalted among the nations and throughout the earth. In times of worry, distress, upheaval, His voice calls them to be still and know that He is God, with assurance of His presence and sovereignty, and committing everything to Him brings His peace. After Judah trusted God and saw Him deliver them from their enemies, they could sing this hymn with understanding: God breaks the weapons of war, is present with His people, and is their refuge.
The God who rules among the nations calls those directing His work and those at the heart of the work to be still and acknowledge His sovereignty. Before His authority human managing, striving, oppression, and trampling of holy precepts must cease. He will deliver His oppressed people and will not allow His holy precepts to be trampled without punishment. He will cause the refuge of lies to fail, strike a blow to deliver the oppressed, raise up humble men to do His will, and punish without delay those who had great light yet betrayed Him and dictated by their own strong spirit, dealing with each person in His own time and rewarding each according to his work, so His people are to rest in Him and be still rather than fear that deception has put His work in jeopardy or that the conflict's outcome depends on them, walking by faith and leaving the deceiver and the sinner with Him who reads the heart.
The verse calls for awed, amazed stillness in the presence of God in view of the momentous events soon to take place. Keeping those events in mind cures weakness of character, leads to realizing the full value of the Saviour's work and intercession, relying on Him with full confidence, and living a noble, pure, devoted life. Sanctified imagination takes in the glories of the future eternal world, living as seeing the invisible by faith and not by sight. It calls for God to be exalted rather than human beings, for frail, erring people are to humble themselves before Him and give Him the glory.
To be still is to stop striving and restless activity and idle talk, quieting the human will and submitting it to God rather than relying on self-effort. When other voices are hushed and earthly interests set aside, the silence makes His voice more distinct so a person may know Him and His will more clearly. In Him the soul thus stilled finds true rest and peace and joy and life. When facing a battle beyond human strength, that stillness means entrusting the whole matter entirely to Jesus and resting in His love and care while He fights for the one who can no longer fight. Such trust is sure because He is God and will be exalted among the nations and throughout the earth.
Meaning of Be Still
To be still is to cease striving, activity, self-effort and idle talk, quieting the human will and submitting it to God rather than depending on mere effort and busyness. In the home this means surrendering the will to God and letting the Holy Spirit govern the spirit, so that parents can work together with God. Before God it means becoming quiet, obeying His words and seeking the inward change needed to live for Christ. Under trial and testing it means not giving way to much talk but meeting what comes with calm trust in God while remaining kind, patient and self-respecting.
The command once meant literally to stop walking, when a troubled woman named Sister Israel, who had been walking and groaning almost continually, heeded the word, stopped, listened to the Lord, and the enemy's spell was broken. The stillness commanded is a solemn, abiding quietness of resting in God's presence. It is not a passing excitement or enthusiasm that soon fades into darkness, but the abiding influence of Christ.
In the presence of God people are awed and amazed, becoming still and recognizing that God is God. Because He is God and will be exalted among the nations and throughout the earth, His people can be still and trust Him. After Judah trusted God and saw Him deliver them from their enemies, they could sing this hymn with understanding, for God breaks the weapons of war, is present with His people, and is their refuge.
The works of nature give reason for this still knowledge, with sunlight, fields, trees, clouds, dew, night, moon and stars showing that God is the only true and living God and calling to meditation on the Creator.
Knowing God Quietly
To know God quietly the soul waits in stillness before Him with other voices hushed and earthly interests set aside, and in that silence His voice becomes more distinct so that a person may know Him and His will more clearly. This quiet waiting brings rest in His promise amid unrest and a true rest that refreshes the soul. It is the need of all under His training to have a quiet hour for communion with their own heart, with nature, and with God. That life is shown to be not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices, but gains a personal experience in which He speaks individually to the heart, and through Scripture and earnest prayer each person can learn His will and ways.
Witnessing His miracle-working power requires this quiet stillness that knows Him by faith. It perceives Him though He is hidden from sight, without seeing Him in person or demanding a miraculous revelation. A full personal revelation is impossible for mortals to bear and live, as even Moses could not receive it, so finite people are to trust the infinite God, to pray as if He were close by, and to walk with Him in darkness under the shrouding of His presence, with freshness and comfort of hope in Christ.
Knowing Him in this way does not mean defining what He is and what His prerogatives are or speculating about His nature. He cannot be defined or comprehended by the human mind, and such defining is not human work. It means reverently acknowledging what He has revealed, receiving and speaking only the words He gives, and loving and obeying Him as children while asking Him to teach His ways.
Stillness long enough to know that He is God is joined to prayer, to searching and personally applying His Word, and to praising Him rather than dwelling on personal hurts and difficulties. In Him the soul thus stilled finds true rest, peace, joy, and life.
Trust in Affliction
When the battle is beyond human strength, being still means entrusting the whole matter entirely to Jesus rather than struggling to manage it, relying on God and knowing that He is God. It means giving the whole case into His hands and letting Him fight for the one who can no longer fight the active, aggressive battle. The troubled one stops being troubled and rests in His love and care and blessing.
When no further step can be taken, the call is to wait and recognize that God is God, to rest in God and trust His care rather than worry about the future. When duty and trials press, stillness means acknowledging His sovereignty as one who acts not on personal authority but as an instrument in His hands. When causes for sadness increase and pressure hedges up the way, His people are to be still and settled and grounded in the truth, holding fast the Word of God and keeping prayer ascending without despondency. Such stillness holds a faith that grasps infinite power, with every soul united to the Source of all power as refuge and strength and very present help. Refusing fear and criticism, they continue the gospel as the great and only principle of the world's regeneration, confident that God is with them.
When His work faces difficulties, believers are to trust His plan and help, recognizing that their own state of mind is not a sure guide. They rely on His word and join faith and trust with the abilities He has given, working according to what He sees rather than what they can see. They rest rather than fear that deception has put His work in jeopardy or that the outcome of the conflict depends on them, walking by faith and leaving deceiver and sinner with Him who reads the heart and will deal with each in His own time and reward each according to work. In trial the soul should be quiet before God, setting aside worry and complaint and much talk, trusting and recognizing that He is God. Resting in Him and waiting patiently, the believer lets His voice become clearer while He guides into a gracious experience. Hearing this call deepens faith and enables overcoming, with testing met in calm trust while remaining kind and patient and self-respecting.
Souls troubled by doubts and fears about acceptance are called to grow quiet and know Him, leaving unrest behind by believing His promises to redeem and receive them. They please Him by confidence and trust rather than distrust, entering a harbor of gracious experience and rest in Christ, with His joy in the soul and rest in the arms of everlasting love. To the troubled it is assurance that God has not forsaken or forgotten, that approach to the heavenly Father with a child's trust brings a look to Him for peace. Committing everything to God in times of worry brings His peace, with assurance of His presence and sovereignty. The call is not to rush or struggle out of the Saviour's care, but to rest the matter with God and trust Him for help while seeking His light and counsel before acting.
Those waiting to recover strength are counseled not to hurry back into responsibilities but to wait patiently for the Lord, who gives rest and quietness. The exhausted may repeat the verse as a means of resting in God and trusting His care, since stillness before God and recognition of His rule bring comfort and help. Amid grief stillness restrains surrender to useless sorrow, since grief cannot bring the dead back or change what has happened. It supports accepting the dead as resting peacefully rather than wishing them back to life's struggles, while continuing work in reliance on Jesus. In loneliness, even when feeling very alone among many people and carrying a heavy burden, becoming still brings recognition that God is present. That quiet stillness gives quiet trust in Him as Helper and lets the lonely heart experience Him as helper.
Being still in God means resting in Him and being content in Him, enjoying the riches of His grace. It means resting in God at the cross of Christ even amid speaking and feeling sustained by a holy presence. Still trust refuses distrust and doubt, because God is present and can be trusted to guide and care for those who rest in His hands. He will work out every problem for the glory of His name and will defend His people.
Rest for Service
True rest is found in being still before God and knowing Him with a personal knowledge of His will. Amid the world's frantic pursuit of pleasure, money, power, and survival, and amid its agitation and consuming rush, God calls people to become still and commune with Him so they may know that He is God. Such rest refreshes the soul amid life's activity and brings peace and light that can reach others.
This quiet communion is the effectual preparation for all labor for God. When other voices are hushed and the soul waits in quietness before Him, the silence makes His voice more distinct in the heart so a person may know Him and His will more clearly. All under His training need a quiet hour for communion with their own hearts, with nature, and with God, showing a life not in harmony with the world, its customs, or its practices, and gaining a personal experience in which He speaks individually to the heart. Those thus refreshed amid the hurrying throng and the strain of intense activity receive a new endowment of renewed physical and mental strength, are surrounded with an atmosphere of light and peace, and live a fragrant life revealing divine power that reaches hearts.
Taking more time to rest in God as a Father who loves with deep and tender love, and repeating the call to stillness oftener than ever before in entire surrender, gives the soul needed rest and vigor to soul and body and contentment in doing the very best one can. That stillness yields spiritual life, which the whole world seeks but which can never be obtained without entire surrender. That life is contemplation of Him who loved and gave Himself, making life sweet and fragrant, keeping the mind clear, the temper sweet, and love abounding, letting peace flow out to bless all around with refreshing atmosphere and fragrant words, and giving power for unselfish Christian experience that teaches others to do good.
Those entrusted with responsibility must at times turn aside from active life to commune with God, listen to Him, and learn to know Him. As responsibilities and temptations increase they are to commune with God often each day, humble their hearts before Him, and act faithfully in work and personal accountability. This stillness keeps ideas and principles pure by the power of God, quickens the mind by divine power, keeps character uncontaminated by worldliness, and teaches faithfulness worthy of the trust committed. It enables one to bring the truth into business, let its maxims try the purposes of the soul, apply its principles to every transaction with unbending integrity and no guile, set affections on things above, and take Jesus everywhere as a light in the world. Stillness before God is a precious privilege of resting in knowing God and trusting in Christ's unfailing love; though a believer's love for Jesus may feel weak or changeable, Christ's love does not fail, and no one can separate a believer from Him.
Reverence in Words
In times of trial or perplexity stillness means pausing before God to think and pray before speaking, keeping silent instead of uttering hasty, unconsidered, harsh, scolding, or unjust words that grieve and injure fellow workers. Such quiet respect of one for another glorifies God on earth and brings light and joy to others.
When anger or provocation rises, the soul is to become still before God and acknowledge that He is sovereign, rather than pouring out sinful, angry words. Turning to the Lord in that quietness is how the soul comes to know God. That trust in God removes old habits and prepares a person to live out responsibilities faithfully.
When charged unjustly, a person can remain silent rather than answer back, trusting God instead of giving way to envy or revenge. Trials and tests are not to produce much talk but calm trust in God joined with kindness, patience, and self-respect. That quietness displays tenderness, sympathy, love, and a meek spirit precious to God.
Workers for God who face suspicion, criticism, and condemnation are to remain calm and trust God, answering with gentleness and quiet trust. They are to hide in Him as in the cleft of the Rock and in Christ as in the shelter of a rock, recognizing that He is God.
Those making decisions in council meetings are to remember that God is present and refrain from vain, loud, or impatient speech, approaching their work with reverence rather than as an ordinary business gathering. Church leaders must quiet self-confidence and cease relying on their own judgment, feeling their need to listen and learn from God. Deliberations are to be approached with humility under the Holy Spirit's guidance, since councils lacking that sense of need lack the Holy Spirit. Amid disputes over the work and its leaders, believers likewise are to be still before God and recognize His authority, stopping action on suspicions and personal imaginings and humbly trusting God.
True education requires being still and listening to God's wisdom with the quiet, humble attentiveness that comes from knowing God, rather than speaking boldly, fluently, and noisily without understanding. God requires stillness and reverent knowledge instead of ready speech without depth of experience in the things of God and without having learned the lesson of the past. Noisy words are like a brawling brook that makes the most noise because it lacks depth.
In the home the same stillness means quieting one's own will and submitting it to God rather than relying on mere effort and activity, allowing the Holy Spirit to govern the spirit so parents can work together with God. Parents are to still their anger and rule their spirit in recognition of God's authority. Gentleness and reliance on God's grace soften harshness of character and enable parents to govern children by love rather than force.
God Exalted Everywhere
God's people can be still and trust Him because He is God and will be exalted among the nations and throughout the earth. In times of worry, distress, upheaval, His voice calls them to be still and know that He is God, with assurance of His presence and sovereignty, and committing everything to Him brings His peace. After Judah trusted God and saw Him deliver them from their enemies, they could sing this hymn with understanding: God breaks the weapons of war, is present with His people, and is their refuge.
The God who rules among the nations calls those directing His work and those at the heart of the work to be still and acknowledge His sovereignty. Before His authority human managing, striving, oppression, and trampling of holy precepts must cease. He will deliver His oppressed people and will not allow His holy precepts to be trampled without punishment. He will cause the refuge of lies to fail, strike a blow to deliver the oppressed, raise up humble men to do His will, and punish without delay those who had great light yet betrayed Him and dictated by their own strong spirit, dealing with each person in His own time and rewarding each according to his work, so His people are to rest in Him and be still rather than fear that deception has put His work in jeopardy or that the conflict's outcome depends on them, walking by faith and leaving the deceiver and the sinner with Him who reads the heart.
The verse calls for awed, amazed stillness in the presence of God in view of the momentous events soon to take place. Keeping those events in mind cures weakness of character, leads to realizing the full value of the Saviour's work and intercession, relying on Him with full confidence, and living a noble, pure, devoted life. Sanctified imagination takes in the glories of the future eternal world, living as seeing the invisible by faith and not by sight. It calls for God to be exalted rather than human beings, for frail, erring people are to humble themselves before Him and give Him the glory.