Psalm 46: Befriending Time to Be Still

From the Sons of Korah

God is our refuge and strength,

   a very present help in trouble. 

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

   though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 

though its waters roar and foam,

   though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

          Selah 

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

   the holy habitation of the Highest. 

God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;

   God will help it when the morning dawns.

The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;

   he utters his voice, the earth melts. 

The Lord of hosts is with us;

   the God of Jacob is our refuge.

          Selah 

Come, behold the works of the Lord;

   see what desolations he has brought on the earth. 

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

   he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;

   he burns the shields with fire. 

‘Be still, and know that I am God!

   I am exalted among the nations,

   I am exalted in the earth.’ 

The Lord of hosts is with us;

   the God of Jacob is our refuge.

          Selah

Help. Refuge. Strength. Gladness. Host. Presence. 

King George and Drawn Into Drama

Sometimes I wake up and want music in my ears as soon as possible. I usually satisfy this desire when I get in the car and begin my extensive 6-minute commute all the way across town to the seminary. This morning was one of those days. I plugged in my phone and enjoyed the music from the acclaimed musical, Hamilton, all the way to the office. Then when I arrived to work, I opened iMusic, connected my phone to my Bluetooth speaker, and continued with King George’s melodies. I love the playful articulation of lament and rage regarding the oppositional nature of America’s birth and independence.

The irony is that King George knows Psalm 46 and provides a two-line summary in the style of The Beach Boys, "God Only Knows”:

              "Oceans rise, empires fall

              We have seen each other through it all…"

But King George gets the last part of the Psalm summary wrong. Instead of saying, “Be still and know I am God…” King George declares, 

               "And when push comes to shove, 

                I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love."

King George creates more drama versus letting the ways of YHWH prevail. In the end, his fight concludes in defeat.

Sitting Stuck but Not Sitting Still

I needed this Psalm today even more than I needed King George. I am having a hard time being still today and would prefer to push my way through with a fully-armed battalion. Thankfully the words of the Psalmist invite the presence of being I am actually longing for. 

This morning I was stuck. I couldn’t accomplish anything on my todo list. I was staring back and forth at online news and facebook. Twenty minutes later, I was further in confusion and frustration. This spinning on the screen was an external manifestation of an internal fracas, and I had little idea of my troubling. I felt paralyzed, and paralysis in thinking or doing is rare for me.

My first act in my stupefaction was to find a song to help me. I had to change the music; King George was silly but not helpful. I went way back in time and played Jars of Clay, “I Need Thee” from their album Redemption Songs. I laughed out loud as I went to my adolescent piety and camp days to find a song for help. Even as the Jars' song played and as I was sitting here hoping to be enlivened, I was stuck. I put my head in my hands and wondered what should I do next. I began shuffling small papers around my work table. I shut down the internet and sat here quietly. 

I was left sitting with myself; what an odd feeling. I could not seem to muster the energy to attend to the task list. I needed to do something, so I opened a file entitled, Leading through the Psalms* and began reading and writing…

Putting a Problem into Perspective - Psalm 46

This Psalm comes to me at exactly the moment of my need. News, home, and work life carry significant challenges for understanding and wisdom. Most of us could write a long lament about the despair in the news or in the complexity of parenting. Recently, our seminary president said, “lean into the pain.” Ugh. There’s so much pain in the world. So I was trying to lean in and appreciate how the Psalmist invites us to remember who is with us in our pain and how a journey through pain finds healing.

The last few days I experienced a difficult engagement on making a personnel decision. This is the crux of my trouble today. I do not take people-decisions lightly. I often say people are the most important aspect of leading anything. The decision wasn’t happening the way I originally expected, and I was feeling sad, confused, and lost in how best to proceed. As the decision took a different turn than I originally expected, I playfully asked a friend, “Tell me something about the character of God, and I will tell you if it is still true.” This kind of outburst is hopefully tied to the Christian practice of lament, but my tone and my inner spirit were angry. I was enraged at how my demands on life are rarely fulfilled. I am more like King George than I want to admit. Where is my fully-armed battalion?

The Psalm is better than a fully-armed battalion; it is a friend who puts trouble in proper perspective. The Psalmist seems to place God’s action of compassion, mercy, refuge and shalom in the context of the groaning of the earth, in the demise of Kings, and in the rise and falling of nations. If God gives refuge to the cataclysm of creation and nations, how much more will the God of the universe be a refuge in the small moments?

The Psalmist invites me to take my life less seriously. The Psalmist says to accept refuge and rest amidst the inner angst, the inner sadness, and the inner fear. I do not need to be entangled nor do I need to entangle others into the drama of the moment. King George did enough of this for all of us. The Psalmist says that Kings, nations, and even creation have enough drama - I do not need to create more through reactivity and angst. 

Be Still - Time is Our Friend

The decision is still standing in front of me; maybe similarly something stands in front of you on a Friday morning. I wonder if the Psalmist is saying, let time be your friend. "Be still” the Psalmist says - do nothing for the moment - and trust that God is ever present and a refuge. God ceases turmoil, heals nations, and renews creation. I long for quiet waters and smooth seas, yet I keep telling myself that the best way to enjoy the flow of life is not to fight against it. Ride it and maybe then I/we will experience "the river that makes glad the city of God." This is the basis of living into silence or contemplation.

So between Hamilton, Jars of Clay, and the Psalms, I can rest and behold the works of God today. The turmoil of this moment may only become sensible both through the lingering of time and within the long-held vision of God’s ceasing of wars, renewing of creation, and healing of nations. 

The Lord of hosts is with us;

   the God of Jacob is our refuge.

I have some work to do to believe this, but I plan to let this Psalm linger a bit longer through the weekend ahead.

*The Psalms Project: Leading Through the Psalms

A little context. In August 2017 I began reading a Psalm “a day” and began journaling on how the Psalms invite leaders to commune with God and to flourish the people entrusted to their care. The Psalms are texts often from or to leaders - they are texts inviting us to consider mercy not judgment, attentiveness not distraction; peace not war, self-sacrifice not self-service. These are the practices of wise and faithful leaders. 

I was diligent in the beginning, and during the first 10 days I had completed reading and writing my initial wonderings on the first 8 Psalms. In the past 270+ days, I am finally arriving at Psalm 46 (spiritual disciplines are called such for a reason…). Sometimes I justify my absence of writing because I am letting the last Psalm I had previously read sink in.