Be Still and Know That I Am God

Lesson Summary: November 6, 2011

Marguerite H. expressed that she felt strongly prompted to focus Sunday’s lesson on eight simple but profound words from the scriptures, “Be Still and Know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10) She highlighted three essential verbs the define each of us: “Be” “Know” and “Do.” As Mormon women we are very good at focusing on “do” to the extent that we may be anxious or overwhelmed but she urged us to focus our discussion the verbs in these 8 words, “Know” and “Be.”

 This same message was given to the children of Israel when they feared their fate in the wilderness (Exodus 14:13) and to early members of the Church during times of great challenge (D&C 101:16). These words can:

• encourage (and give permission for) us to simplify and focus on what is most important
• amid our busy lives to find ways to “be still”--to feel quiet stillness and peace--even (or especially) in small slivers of each day
• rekindle a desire to act on God’s invitation to know Him better--to gain strength and power from knowing God as our loving Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ
• share traps to avoid and personal ways to make being and knowing God an essential, daily source of strength and comfort we can draw on for everything else in our lives

Marguerite highlighted three concepts contained in Psalms 46

1.      Our confidence (Psalms 46:1-3). “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” Trouble is an integral part of life. Sister Beck said that “Every day, Relief Society sisters around the world experience the entire range of mortal challenges and experiences. Women and their families today live face to face with unrealized expectations; mental, physical, and spiritual illness; accidents; and death. Some sisters suffer loneliness and disappointment because they do not have families of their own, and others suffer from the consequences of poor choices made by family members. Some have experienced war or hunger or natural disasters, and others are learning about the strain of addictions, unemployment, or insufficient education and training. All of these difficulties have the potential to bleach the bones of faith and exhaust the strength of individuals and families.”

Marguerite taught the meaning of “Selah”

Selah  (Hebrew סֶלָה‎, also transliterated as selāh) occurs 71 times in 39 chapters of the Psalms.  The Psalms were sung accompanied by musical instruments so Selah notes a break in the song--a pause.  In music, the pauses are as important as the notes.  

Some scholars think Selah comes from the Hebrew root word salah (סָלָה‎) which means "to hang", and by implication to measure (weigh). In Biblical history, money, food and other valuables were 'weighed' by hanging or suspending them on a type of balance (the equivalent of our measuring scale) to determine their value." So another meaning of Selah might be:  measure carefully and reflect upon the preceding truth.   

2.      Our Calmness (and gladness) (Psalms 46: 4-7) The next verses change from calamity and chaos to calmness and gladness: “There is a river, the streams wherefore make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High” (v. 4). There is the calm, pure river, which is the source from which the streams irrigate, bring life, and add beauty in the very city of God. His presence is like the river—life-giving and sustaining, a source of peace and beauty in our lives.

3.      Our Conviction (and our compassion) (Psalms 46:8-10). Psalm 46 not only affirms the reality of God’s presence, it also invites to witness the evidence: “Come, behold the works of the Lord.... (v.8)  Two messages of these verses might be: He wants us to know of the possibility of His presence and power in our lives and He wants us to know he marshals the armies (i.e., “hosts”) of heaven to do his bidding.  He has power to end strife--between people and in our hearts--to help us have greater compassion.

Marguerite then discussed how we must focus on those things that matter most, inspired by President’s Uchtdorf’s 2010 conference talk and John C. Thomas Ensign article.

The year 1845 was a busy one for Latter-day Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois. Still mourning the violent death of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Saints continued their efforts to complete the Nauvoo Temple, spread the gospel, and gather believers even as conflict with critics and dissenters hastened plans for an exodus to the West. On a Sunday in August 1845, Brigham Young paused from the demands of leadership to record a dream he’d had the previous night. “I dreamed … I saw Brother Joseph Smith,” he wrote, “and as I was going about my business, he said, ‘Brother Brigham, don’t be in a hurry.’” President Young said Joseph repeated the counsel twice more with “a degree of sharpness”: Brother Brigham, don’t be in a hurry. Brother Brigham, don’t be in a hurry.

Marguerite proposed four ways that our busyness can distract us from the important things in life.

1. Don’t Be in a Hurry so you Forget the First Commandment to love God

In the midst of our modern-day frenzy, how well do we remember that our time on earth is actually a gift from God?

2. Don’t Be in a Hurry to Do It All Yourself

Nephi put it this way: “Ye must pray always, and not faint; … ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul” (2 Nephi 32:9). We should begin each day with purposeful prayer for God to guide our days.

3. Don’t Be in a Hurry to Fill Your Days with “Busyness”

She discussed perceptions from national journalists that Mormon’s are so busy that busyness is esteemed over contemplation. It is true that we have work enough to do, but Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles cautioned us against a “frantic, heedless busyness … [that often] crowds out contemplation and … leaves no room for renewal.” …”when we “plan some time for contemplation and renewal,” we will feel drawn to our work instead of driven to it.”

4. Don’t Be in a Hurry to Be Done (NEW!)

Do you know the feeling of “I wish I were done”? It shows up everywhere, even in the way we think and talk about our testimony, our conversion, and the Lord’s redeeming work in the world. If we hurry, we can short-circuit the marvel of conversion and miss the moments that God has given us to help us feel His love and renew our hope in Christ.

“There seems to be little evidence,” Elder Richard L. Evans (1906–71) of the Quorum of the Twelve once said, “that the Creator of the universe was ever in a hurry. Everywhere, on this bounteous and beautiful earth … there is evidence of patient purpose and planning and working and waiting.”

When young Joseph Smith found himself in the fight of his life, “seized upon” by a powerful enemy who wanted to choke his prayer with despair and destroy him, when it took “all [of Joseph’s] powers [simply] to call upon God to deliver” him, “at [that] moment of great alarm,” how did deliverance come? In a “pillar of light … which descended gradually” (JS—H 1:15–16; emphasis added).

So where should we begin? For me, it is significant that the first step King Benjamin taught his people about becoming Saints was to yield “to the enticings of the Holy Spirit” (Mosiah 3:19). Learning to yield is opens the way to often small but crucial ways of change. President Benson taught:

“Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible.”

If we are in a hurry, the growth is imperceptible, but as we slow down, the Holy Ghost can help us recognize true progress—renewing our hope even as He teaches us what we yet lack to become like Christ (see Moroni 8:26; 2 Nephi 32:5).

Sisters discussed some ideas on how to

1.      Be realistic about how much we can actually accomplish during a day.

2.      Focus on what we have done, not what we have not done.

3.      Take the time to do things that are going to make you most effective, especially centering our lives on God.

4.      Go to a place of refuge, either physically or mentally.

5.      Focus on the relationships that are most important.

6.      Ask for God’s help at the onset of each day.

7.      Heal our relationships with God and family members.

8.      Let go of unnecessary things and simplify.

Marguerite concluded with her testimony "As we find ways be still, put God foremost, call on Him first, and wait on Him always, then we will come to know Him, to discern His still, small voice reminding us how well He knows us and how much He loves us.  He is our refuge, an ever present source of strength and everlasting well of comfort and gladness."   

“Let your hearts be comforted... for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God. Zion shall not be moved out of her place. They that remain, and are pure in heart, shall return, and come to their inheritances... with songs of everlasting joy.” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:16)

Selah.