Drop Your Hands

October 6, 2012 — by Joe Stowell

Our Daily Bread Radio is hosted by Les Lamborn

Be still, and know that I am God. —Psalm 46:10

You’d think I would have my mother’s fingerprints embedded in my knee from all the times she squeezed my leg in church and whispered in no uncertain terms, “Be still.” Like any boy, I had a bad case of the wiggles in places like church. So for years, when I read, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10), I thought of it in terms of not being antsy.
But the Hebrew word for still means “to cease striving.” It’s the concept of putting your hands down and letting God intervene in your situation without your interference. This word picture is interesting, since we often use our hands to push things out of our way, to protect ourselves, or to strike back. When we drop our hands, it makes us feel defenseless and vulnerable—unless we can trust that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (v.1), and that “the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (v.7). In other words, stop struggling and wait on God to do His work!
In the face of all of life’s circumstances, we can know the peace of trusting the presence and power of God in the midst of trouble as we wait patiently and prayerfully for His deliverance. So drop your hands, for God’s hands are busy on your behalf!

Be still and know that He is God
For pathways steep and rough;
Not what He brings but who He is
Will always be enough. —Anon.

When we put our problems in God’s hands,
He puts His peace in our hearts.