Be Still and Know That I Am God

Be Still and Know That I Am God” Psalm 46:10

By M. Harris

Mankind is held accountable by God for every idle word that he speaks. The Lord tells believers to guard their tongue, because it is said, “life and death are in the power of the tongue.” We speak life to our body or we speak death to our body, so count it a good thing to watch what you say. And the old axiom is “silence is golden.”

To let the mind run with the engines of creativity, it takes silence, to allow the mind to think. Some of the best brainstorming is done by just one person. I’ve often heard people say that the battlefield is in the mind. Until we set our mind to do something, nothing can be accomplished. Reading uplifting articles and feel good messages will strengthen the bones and purify the blood; they even set the mind at peace. If we put good things in our mind, then good things will come out. It is necessary to filter the garbage. Garbage in the mind is like a bunch of static or a crowd of people all talking at the same time.

The Bible makes no difference between the heart and the mind, but our actions and characteristics come out of them. What comes out is called fruits, whether they are bad fruits or good fruits, they are fruits. In Christianity, you will see a complete alteration to a person’s existence when they understand the gospel. Rattling idle words for jokes and laughs are immediately cleansed. Humor is still a great part of the person, but the humor is carefully thought out and the vocabulary is washed. Instead of a person who constantly talks all of the time, they often turn into a silent listener.

The human body needs a good hard day of work along with good food so the body can rest at night. The balancing act of work and rest keeps the biological clock ticking steadily. It is good to work by day and rest by night. The silence of the night is a beautiful thing, when one can sleep well.

Unemployment throughout the world is at an all-time high and people have more time on their hands. Horatio Alger wrote a book called “Ragged Dick” about a young man named Dick who had a lot of time on his hands. Dick was the epitome of poverty. As a homeless young scavenger, shining shoes to eat, he represented a citizen of the Great Depression as the Gilded Age ended. He slept in a wooden box filled with straw and wore rags for clothes including a tattered old coat. Very early in the book one could notice certain traits about Dick. He was a good hearted boy. Alger described him as “above doing anything mean or dishonorable – he would not steal, or cheat anyone.” He got a helping hand when he was given new clothes and $5, because someone decided he was worth helping. His moral character was the silent healer of his weaknesses and his poverty.

There is a Scripture in the Bible which is short but powerful and has many meanings. Proverbs 26:2 reads, “As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.” So a curse without a cause doesn’t come upon us. What would you define as a curse? Certainly cancer is a curse, HIV is a curse, war is a curse, and destroying hurricanes, cyclones or tornadoes are curses. God promises that if we will do as He says that He will put none of these curses on us. And of course, we all know that man can’t do what God says. Man can’t even keep his mouth shut, when not saying a word, would benefit him better. Evidently, we open our mouth and speak with forked tongue and set curses all around us. By the very words we speak, we invite a curse to come upon us.

A young woman named Martha was answering her mother saying “That’s going to kill me.” Her mother only asked her to get the clothes from the dryer and fold them. Another young woman screamed back at her mother, “I wish I were dead.” Scripture tells us that by our very tongue we invite spirits of evil and they are also called demons. With the invitations that these two young women have given to the spirit of death, we can understand while later in their lives they will have asthma attacks, panic attacks or heart attacks. Those attacks all take a person’s breath away. The spirit of death attempts to take the breath away, but the evil spirit is invited by idle words.

When God is silent, it does not mean that He is not there. Many believe God is testing our obedience in His silence and that is probably true. He has already spoken to us and by His word God believes we know His will. He believes we are sufficient, with what He has given to us, to stand. This doesn’t mean that He leaves us, because He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. This doesn’t mean that we will not hear His voice again; it means we know enough to act in His will. Silence is a powerful tool, especially to God.

It is truly a struggle not to speak and stay silent. Ask anyone who has had a severe sore throat and lost their voice. It is easier to connect with one’s own self without noise and conversation. Silence, after awhile, will eventually comfort and bring peace. It removes stress and anxiety from the body. Be still, stay in complete silence and you will hear your heart beat, the blood flowing through your body, and even hear your breath sing.

Silence is a great healer.


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