There is a Difference Between “Being Still…” and Doing Nothing.

Believe it or not, the Holy Spirit started birthing this lesson in me while watching the new version of “Karate Kid” movie. Right in the middle of the movie, the older, wiser maintenance man Mr. Han (the new Mr. Miyagi) was explaining to the young karate student, Dre, that there was a difference between being still and doing nothing. It really grabbed my attention, and the Holy Spirit started going off with-in me to the point I had to pause the movie and write down what He was telling me.

Let’s start in Psalm 46:1-11. I will be using the Literal Translation.

“Psa 46:1 To the chief musician. For the sons of Korah; A song. For the Virgins. God is our refuge and strength, very much found to be a help in distresses.

Psa 46:2 On account of this we will not fear when the earth changes and when mountains are slipping into the heart of the seas.

Psa 46:3 Let its waters foam; let the mountains shake in its swelling. Selah.

Psa 46:4 There is a river, its channels gladden the city of God, the holy tabernacles of the Most High.

Psa 46:5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be shaken; God will help her at the turning of the morning.

Psa 46:6 The nations roared; kingdoms were shaken; He gave forth His voice and the earth melted.

Psa 46:7 Jehovah of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is a refuge for us. Selah.

Psa 46:8 Come, behold the works of Jehovah, who sets ruins on the earth,

Psa 46:9 causing wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts apart spears; He burns the chariots in the fire.

Psa 46:10 Be still and know that I am God! I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.

Psa 46:11 Jehovah of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is a refuge for us. Selah.”

Focusing on verse 10, many of us know and can quote “Be still and know that I am God.” I want to tell you, it goes deeper. I went word by word with the Strong’s Concordance to go back to the Hebrew and try to get the full meaning. While I will not read all of that to you right now, I do have copies of it for those interested. I do want to share with you the verse out of both The Bible in Basic English, and The Message Bible translations. The BBE states, “Be at peace in the knowledge that I am God: I will be lifted up among the nations; I will be honored through all the earth.” The Message Bible states it as, “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything." I thought both were very powerfully worded and translated.

When I do a study, I cannot just go with the one verse, I want to read all that is surrounding it, to get the fullness of it and understand what that verse means in the context of the chapter. I found it interesting how many times the word “Selah” was used in just this one short chapter. I had heard it before, but I wanted the understanding of it as it was used here. Many bible scholars point to the fact it is a psalm, to be sung, and that Selah simply means pause or stop, so the singers would know to take a pause here. I think it is more than that, so I looked into it.

Selah

Seventy-one times it is mentioned in the Psalms, three times in Habakkuk.

From the Hebrew “shelah”, meaning "rest."

It is a call to calm reflection on the preceding words. Take notice of what you just heard. When Selah is mentioned in Psa_9:16 it follows the word “Higgaion” (pronounced hig-gaw-yone'), from the Hebrew, for "meditation", or, from its root word “hâgâh “ (pronounced haw-gaw') meaning to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication to ponder: - imagine, meditate, mull over, mutter, roar, speak, study, talk, utter.

The word Selah reminds us that the verse requires a time of peaceful meditation to comprehend what the Holy Spirit is trying to say. Stop. Think about, ponder, mull over what you just read or heard. Take it out and chew on it a while. (Quote verse 10 again) We are to be resting in the Lord, trusting in, relying on, and knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that God has our back. To think on this is action, it is doing something.

There are many people that consider the phrase “Be Still…” the same as “wait upon the Lord”. Okay, wait upon the Lord still has us doing SOMETHING.

Isa 8:17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.

Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Look, mount up, run, walk… they are all verbs, requiring action. Both of those scriptures have us DOING SOMETHING. There are many more scriptures I could use here to further show that waiting on the Lord is more than sitting on our backsides twiddling our thumbs waiting for Him to do something for us.

So now that we know being still is doing something, let’s look at doing Nothing.

Definition of nothing: a quantity of no importance; a concept that describes the absence of anything at all; often used to indicate the lack of anything relevant or significant; An absence of anything, including empty space, brightness, darkness, matter, or a vacuum; [This tells me that it is pretty easy to do something, because even “empty space” is something. How much more so would it be to just utter A pray, or A verse, or A song or psalm?]; (Nothing also means) something trifling, or of no consequence.

Do nothing: marked by inactivity or failure to make positive progress.

Nothingness: the state of nonexistence; empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk.

This one got me. How many times have we sat around doing nothing while saying to God, “… but I am going to do…” whatever…? Are you all talk and no action? Do you put any action to your faith? Does your faith have feet? Is it going anywhere? Or do we expect God to do it all? Or the Pastor? Or the Kid’s church leader? Youth Pastor? Elders/Deacons/Ushers? If we really want THE church (not just any specific church, but also the Kingdom of God) to grow, we HAVE to do more than SAY it, we have to do MORE than pray. It starts with prayer, but then we have to put feet to our faith. Walk up to someone and invite them to church. Go out and feed the hungry, cloth the naked, visit the sick, share the gospel…

In searching the Bible for any mention of, or anywhere in the Bible where God told us to do nothing… I came up empty-handed. I did a Google search, and again, was unable to find one example of God telling us to do nothing. However, I did find this: If you have any question as to what you are to do, while waiting upon the Lord to tell you something specific, try this…

Jeremiah 22:3 (Good News Bible)

"I, the LORD, command you to do what is just and right. Protect the person who is being cheated from the one who is cheating him. Do not mistreat or oppress aliens, orphans, or widows; and do not kill innocent people in this holy place.”

Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Peter 3:18 Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ help you to keep on growing. Praise Jesus now and forever! Amen. CEV

Matthew 28:19 & 20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

(20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Micah 6:8 The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: "See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God." CEV

Acts 13:47 The Lord has given us this command, "I have placed you here as a light for the Gentiles. You are to take the saving power of God to people everywhere on earth." CEV

We have plenty we can be doing while waiting on the Lord for direction. Question is, are you doing it? Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps, if you are not willing to move your feet.