Psalms 46:8-10
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Human existence on this earth has taught us many things about creation. Although God has established order and a plan for man and for creation, sin has caused much chaos in the world. However, God masters chaos. God is not surprised by what evil has done in His creation, but rather has decreed His sovereign plan over evil. He actually incorporates evil to accomplish His plan. Psalm 46 and many more passages teach us that God can stop war and can use war to accomplish His ends. In the story of Job we have a great example of how God uses the evilness in men's hearts to accomplish His will. When Satan wanted to attack Job, God gave him permission to do so, but without touching Job. Satan then stirred up a band of evil marauders to attack Job's property. God allowed the weather to go haywire and destroy the home Job's children were occupying at the time, which would destroy the children. God removed His grace and allowed evil to do what it does in this earth to accomplish a greater end in the life of Job. God used the evilness in the hearts of Joseph's brothers to sell Joseph and, thus, get him to Egypt. Later he would be there in order to save the entire family ... who prior had hated him. In the above passage we see that in the midst of destruction and war and desolation, God can make war cease. He can break the bow and shatter the spear. God is not shocked, defeated or on vacation in regard to the devastation in this world. He is perfectly in control. The answer to conflict in the world is found in the last refrain in the above verses. The writer gives us the secret formula to surviving in a world that looks like it is completely out of control: Be still and know that I am God. God wants to be exalted "among" the nations and "in the" earth. To do that we are not to do anything!!! We are to "be still" and "know" that He is God. When believers recognize that God is God and God is in charge, we honor Him. When God is honored He is able to intervene in difficult circumstances and to make peace in the earth. We are to recognize when God puts us in situations of great chaos, we must realize that THIS is the times we are to BE STILL and KNOW THAT I AM GOD!! When Joshua fought the enemy in the valley, Moses was on the mountain praying ... he was being still while the battle raged. As long as he prayed without stretched arms the battle was Joshua's. When Elijah was on Mt. Carmel he bowed his head in front of all the priest of Baal and was "still." He recognized God and the battle between Baal worshippers and God's worshippers was over. When we are in the midst of chaos we tend to want to be as chaotic as the situation. Yet, God's simply solution to this issue is not to become chaotic and scream and yell and stomp and run and fling our arms in despair. God's solution is to be still and recognize God is God. Our knowing God in the midst of the storm is the solution to being safe in the storm. Peter was walking on water when he focused on Christ. But, when he saw the chaos around him he took his eyes off "knowing" Christ and began to "know" the storm. He began to gather knowledge about the storm (high, wet, violent waves) instead of gathering knowledge about Christ (powerful, sovereign, all-knowing Creator of high, wet and violent waves). The truth is, the secret to overcoming chaos is to get to know the One who uses chaos to accomplish His will and plan for us.
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