Be still and Know that i am God

Read Psalm 46

Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

There are always almost two reactions when we hear of wars, uprisings, epidemics and natural disasters. The first reaction is to be overwhelmed and become crippled by fears toward the happenings. We then switch off the news or becomes so glued to the television with a sense of helplessness.

The second reaction is to numb ourselves from feeling anything. Casualties are just statistics and figures to us. What happens somewhere else has nothing to do with us and we stay in our bubble-world; refusing to be emotionally engaged with any bad news.

The psalmist is neither unaware, nor unaffected by the events of his world but declares his confidence in the Lord. In our turbulent world, do we have the faith that “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Verse 1).

Verse 10 “be still and know that I am God’ is perhaps the most misquoted verse in the Bible. It is used before worship services and prayer meetings to request the people to quiet down their hearts and pray.

In its context, this verse is a call for God’s people to remain steady in the midst of disasters and great unrest. It is a call for God’s people to remember who God is. He is who He claims to be – the Lord of the universe. Our hearts and minds must be completely at rest, confidence that He is in full control of all things on earth and everything in heaven. Nothing surprises Him and disturbs Him. He is Creator, Sustainer and King of all things seen and unseen.

With that quiet confident trust comes the realization that God is exalting Himself in all the world and making Himself known to all nations. God is the God of the universe and He reveals and is still revealing Himself to the peoples – we are then to be still and see God at His mission – knowing His Name great.

The next time you steady your heart using this verse, reminds yourself that God is the One you know and He wants others to know Him too.

A Macedonian Call

October 17, 2010

Missions is not an optional department in the church ministry.

It is intrinsic to our calling as a church. Like a fish cannot but swim, a bird cannot but fly, so a church cannot but do world missions. However, the church will only be most effective and involved when she focuses her energy, resources and prayers on one mission field.

For BHLC, we have identified our mission field – the Dalits of India. Thus, it is our church’s aim to empower the Dalits of India to break the caste system.

Born as the ‘untouchables’, they have been labelled by the Hindu scriptures as the ‘unborn’, which in translated means, ‘it would be better if they had never been born’.

As sub-humans, they are denied water, education and healthcare by all levels of society. After being oppressed for more than three thousand years, the Dalits have finally cried out, ‘enough is enough!’ Open invitations to Christians have been issued by the Dalit leaders - not unlike that of the Macedonian call in Acts 16:9-10,

"During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

What do we do with such a vision?

We must conclude that NOW is the time to stand with them.

To that end, we have committed to help build a school for them in India.