Pearls of the Word

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Be still and know I am God

by Jean-Louis Coraboeuf

"Be still [rapha] and know [yada] that I am God. I govern the nations, I hold sway over all the earth" (Psalm 46:11).

The Hebrew word rapha means to abandon, to let drop, to stop; and the verb yada means to learn, to be acquainted, to know. God asks us to surrender our useless struggles in order that we can truly know that He is God.

And He asks us to enter his sanctuary and take time to reflect upon the works that He performs on earth. He destroys the enemy's weapons and consumes the instruments of war; He is the Everlasting Lord in the midst of our armies (Psalm 16:5-12).

This is what King Jehoshaphat did; with his cantors, together with all the people, he celebrated and praised God and left the Lord to fight for him (2 Chronicles 20:15).