AUGUST 15, 2005

Want To Know God Better? Relax!
by Pastor George Van Alstine

Sometimes the most familiar words can take on new meaning. How many times have I read these words:
“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
Eight words, and every one a monosyllable. How can the verse mean anything but what it means? It clearly seems to be an exhortation to learn how to find God in absolute silence, in total meditation.

But someone wanted me to read a book entitled Leisure, the Basis of Culture, by German philosopher Josef Pieper, written in the late 1940s. So far, I haven’t gotten past the first few introductory pages. There I was immediately confronted with a vaguely familiar Bible verse:
“Have leisure, and know that I am God.”
Yes, that was his translation of Psalm 46:10.

So, of course, I went to my Hebrew reference books to see what the word really meant in the original language. To my surprise, I found that the man was on to something. This Hebrew word is not the usual word for being still or quiet. It’s root meaning is to slacken or let up, as you would let up on a rope you’ve been pulling. Some of its other usages are to cease from doing something and to weaken or diminish in effort. It is the word used to describe a day that is drawing to a close. It can mean to be idle or even lazy. In short, it seems to be the opposite of working.

Judy and I are leaving in a couple of hours for a brief stay at the beach. I can’t tell you how liberating this new/old Bible verse is for me. I have decided to unpack a couple of books I was going to take along to get a head start on sermon preparation. And I’m certainly not going to bring Pieper’s book Leisure, the Basis of Culture, because it’s definitely not leisurely reading.

Some of us are driven by work and responsibility. We have to be forced by our family to take any time off, and even then our minds are always on edge about loose ends left behind.

Maybe we have to learn that loose ends are exactly the place where God is most active in our lives. Where things are carefully woven and tied off into finished knots, God is not needed. But where we are a bit unraveled, God sees his opportunity.

Summer is vacation time for most of us. Let’s be open to creative new encounters with God during our play time, when we’re in a different environment, when our guard is down. “Have leisure”—Pieper’s translation—seems a bit stilted. How about
“Party, and know that I am God.”