“Stop Fighting”

One of my first classes at Sunset International Bible Institute was Spiritual Disciplines with Brandi Kendall. He introduced me to one of my favorite passages in the Bible, which comes from Psalm 46. In this passage, we are assured that God is our refuge and strength and that we can always turn to Him in times of trouble. We are reminded of God’s presence in the world and that we do not need to be afraid because our God is always by our side. Then, we come to the hinge of this passage, the verse upon which all our faith depends. Psalm 46:10 reads, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations and exalted in the earth!” It is this verse that our faith depends on because it is the qualification that we must meet for us to see God at work.

Here is what I believe to be the pinnacle of our Christian faith. The Christian Standard Bible translates the verse as “Stop fighting and know that I am God.” I believe that this is such an accurate way of seeing this. As humans, we get so caught up in the world around us, and all that is happening in our lives. There are times when we fight so hard to solve all our troubles that we lose sight of God altogether. We spend our time looking to the things and people of the world to help us in times of trouble, and here God is telling us that all we have to do is “stop fighting” and allow Him to be our God. He desires to serve, take care of, and love us, and we have to let him. I know that this is something I struggle with because I feel the need to try to fix things all on my own. But most of the time, this leaves me longing for more and wandering hopelessly in the wilderness, looking for Him. But as stated in Psalm 46, God is always with us, and He is our stronghold. We only need to stop fighting and allow Him to step into the battle for us. If I spent more time standing still in front of God and allowing him to work, I might find my personal battles easier. How about you? Can you stop fighting and know that God is there with you?