How dumb are you willing to be? (Psalm 37:7)
"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." Ps. 37:7
Last October our church held a women's retreat and we studied Psalm 46:10 which speaks of being still and knowing God (which is an awesome verse). When I read Psalm 37:7 I saw the same words used, "be still", and was curious if they were actually the same Hebrew word. Much as I expected, they are not. The Hebrew word used for be still in 46:10 (raphah) speaks more to the idea of letting go, of surrendering in order to know God so that He can be exalted. But here in 37:7 the Hebrew word used (damam) is about resting, being quiet, to be dumb in order to wait patiently, without worry, for the Lord. Two different words for two different instructions. So why, according Ps.37:7 is it so important to rest, to be quiet, or (my favorite of the definitions) to be dumb in order to wait for God when life seems to run amuck?
It can be so very easy for me to look at circumstances, situations, events, actions, relationships or what have you and think I understand or know what is happening, why things are happening, or better yet, know what needs to happen or take place to make things better. Then what I can tend to do is go to God in prayer and tell Him, from my vast knowledge and understanding (that is sarcasm by the way) what the best outcome is and how He can best intervene in the circumstance, event, action, etc.. Then in anxiousness and sometimes worry and concern I usually wait to see when God will answer my prayer (which was more of an instruction). Worse is when my instructions, or prayer rather, isn't being seen as answered and I start to worry more and question if God heard me. But according to Psalm 37:7 and the Hebrew definition I should rest, be quiet and be dumb and wait. I love that last definition, "be dumb". I love it because it reminds me not to think more highly of myself than I should (Rom 12:3). It reminds me that I do not know more than God does. It reminds me of who I am and who my God is. My God knows so much more than I do (Ps. 139), He is at work and in control (Job 12), nothing is beyond His abilities (Mt. 19:26 & Job 42:2) and He will work everything out in just the way it should and needs to go (Pro. 16:4-9 & Ro. 8:28). To be "dumb" means that I recognize that I am not all knowing and I don't understand what or why things are happening or the best way they should be handled. To be "dumb" simply means that I go to God without my presentation of how things should go. To be "dumb" means that I don't allow myself to think that I know what is best but that I desire to seek God who truly does know and who is somehow working everything out for my good as well as the good of others and the world. To be "dumb" releases me from the burden of having to figure it all out, it releases me from the worry and fear, it releases me to sit, rest, be quiet and still so that I can see and hear what the Lord has to say. It is no different than a student being quiet and recognizing that his/her teacher knows more and can teach him/her if they would just be quiet and listen or watch.
There are many times when things in our lives can feel out of control. Times when relationships seem heavy or torn. Times when wickedness seems to prevail in its ways. Times when evil feels victorious. Psalm 37:7 is a reminder to us to go to God as a student to a teacher and to tell Him, "Lord I don't understand what is going on and I truly don't know what I can do but you know. Lord you know what steps, if any, I should take and when. I come to you with this heavy heart and I ask you to teach me, to guide me, to lead me, to help me." Then, as Ps. 37:7 says, wait and listen patiently, quietly and expectantly for the Lord to instruct. It is then that I believe the burden of fear and anxiety will begin to lift and the peace of God will begin to settle in no matter what we see or hear from Him.
My desire is to be as "dumb" as I can be before the Lord, to be as humbled as I can be before the Lord, to empty myself of everything and anything that hinders me from sitting with God and listening to Him so that I can be all that He desire me to be and to be truly effective for Him.
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