Psalm 46:10 · NASB · 1 of 6
Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Word study · Hebrew
רָפָה
cease striving · raphah · to slacken, to let drop, to stop
Raphah is the loosening of a grip. ‘Be still’ is not a spa mood. It is dropping the weapons and the frantic work of saving yourself.
Insight
The psalm has been full of roaring waters, tottering mountains, kingdoms in uproar. Then this: slacken. Knowledge of God is not the prize at the end of more effort. It is what becomes possible when the hands open. And the stilling is not the end of the story. He will be exalted. The silence is so that His name, not ours, fills the earth.