Be Still

"But the LORD [is] in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him." (Habakkuk 2:20)

"Be still, and know that I [am] God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10)

We take God's holiness for granted all the time. In today's society, God is either "the man upstairs" or a buddy. We paint warm, fuzzy pictures of a smiling Jesus, but how often do we see Him as the righteous Judge or the Kings of Kings riding on His white horse? We try to put God in a box so we can understand Him -- or think we understand Him. Humans always want to think they have a grasp on everything -- from science to eternity. Do we fully understand how we got here? Do we know the secrets of the universe? Do we know that there is something beyond our realm of comprehension? We'd like to think so.

Hbk. 2:20 literally translates: "The Lord is in His sacred palace: let the whole earth hold [its] peace (or hush) before Him." Wow. This blows my mind when I think about it. God is on His throne -- be silent.

The stillness of Ps 46:10 is different. It literally means "to sink, relax, sink down, let drop, be disheartened; drop, relax, abate, withdraw; abandon, forsake, refrain, let alone; be quiet." [In Californian, that would translate as "Dude, chill out."]

The word "know" in this verse is also used in Genesis 4:1 - "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD." The Lord is saying, "know in the most intimate sense, that I am your God... Have knowledge of Me; seek Me out."

Twice, God states "I will be exalted." Not "Will you please exalt me?" but "I WILL be exalted." He will be magnified and lifted up, regardless of what we do.

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recommended: a post from fellow blogger Madd - "a balance."