"Be weak"

I was reflecting on Psalm 46 today.  This is a familiar Psalm to many and it has been such a blessing and comfort to me.  But today I "discovered" something interesting...a hidden meaning perhaps.  Of course it is not new and it has always been there, just waiting to be discovered by God's people.  It feels as though I have stumbled across a secret of sorts.

verse 10: "Be still and know that I am God..."

Like I said, this is very familiar to many.  We say it, we sing it, we pray it...but do we really know what it means?  I decided to do a bit of a word search taking it back to the original Hebrew language.

The Hebrew word used here for "be still" is the word "raphah."  Here's what it means:
    "to slacken, cease, fail, be feeble, forsake, leave, let alone, be weak."

The last one is the one that got me... "be weak?"  The Psalmist is giving us the command to "be weak" and know that He is God.  Interesting isn't it...

Here in Rwanda, there is a common word/phrase that people use all the time.  "Komera."  It means "be strong."  They say it when someone is going through a rough time.  They say it when they are trying to encourage someone who is hurting or grieving.  They even say it if someone is walking and begins to trip!
Of course in English we do the thing.  We find someone who is hurting or grieving the loss of a loved one and we try to find words to encourage and lift them.  We tell them to be strong, hold on, don't give up... and perhaps those words have their place.

But what if we walked around and told people to "be weak."  It would be strange to say the least!  So why does the Psalmist here in Psalm 46 tell us to be weak?  What does he know that perhaps we have not yet learned?

Maybe he knows the key to real strength lies in being weak.  Maybe he, like Paul, has discovered that "when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10.  Or like Paul says in verse 9 of 2 Corinthians, " His power is made perfect in weakness."

So here's my thought for the day... be weak!  Don't be afraid of your weakness.  Don't be afraid to let go and admit that you are nothing and can do nothing without HIm.  Don't be afraid of trials, hardships, or persecutions, for when you feel weak, that is when He can show His strength most clearly.  Here we are forced to face the fact that we are finite and He is infinite.  And that is where we find strength!