Be still, and know that I am God . . . . The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Ps. 46:10, 11.

We are never more glorified in our Christian experience than when, in a strength not our own, we are quiet and confident before God. Here we resign our opinions, our anxieties, merits, strength, and our resources. We look simply to Him. "Be still" refers to our willingness to let God do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, to let Him fight battles for us that we cannot fight for ourselves.

We have accepted the Lordship of Christ. Our position in the battle of life is never one of anxiety and apprehension. Being still means putting all things into His hands, and with a brave heart biding His time.

There are two sides to the Christian life: the quiet and contemplative, and the vigorous and enterprising. It is of prime importance that both sides receive full attention. The special danger of our time is in our liability to exaggerate the place of self-assertion. We are apt to carry our bustling self-sufficiency into our religious life. In the working out of our salvation we fail to develop quiet thought, silent prayer, and receptive waiting. Might we not progress faster toward Christlikeness by a quiet looking to Him than by all feverish activity? "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him" (Ps. 62:5).

Working, running, fighting, wrestling, are all words used in the Scripture to describe part of our Christian experience. All of them are easier to do than silently to wait upon God. To lean on Christ's strength is the crowning triumph. It is easier to engage in all kinds of religious work than to fall helplessly at the feet of Christ. It is easier to summon our energies to effect small improvements than to receive Christ's full salvation by faith alone. The supreme moments in our experience are those in which the quiet waiting upon God supersedes all other action.