Just being transparent and really vulnerable here...
Be Still…
I’m currently reading a book by Melissa Dougherty called Happy Lies, and whew… it has been stirring things in me in the best and most uncomfortable way.
The heart of the book is about understanding the culture we live in so we can share our faith more clearly and more faithfully.
There’s a chapter where Melissa talks about how we as Christians sometimes cherry-pick Scripture. We pull verses that comfort us, motivate us, or fit what we’re walking through in the moment… while quietly ignoring the rest of the passage.
If I’m honest, I’ve done that too.
Most recently with Psalm 46:10.
That verse is part of my “double heart” tattoo. The words Be still are tied to one of my favorite camp songs, Don’t Disturb the Ladybug. If you know it, you know. The kind of song that sneaks up on me and makes me cry every single time.
And the Scripture itself was no accident.
After the events of this summer, the flood, losing my beloved summer home, and losing Jane, I knew I would get another tattoo. I didn’t know exactly what it would be yet, but I knew it had to happen. And it had to be done by my tattoo guy. You know the one. The one from Jerusalem.
Honestly, I figured it would never happen. He doesn’t live here. He doesn’t travel here often. So I tucked that thought away.
And then… he came to the U.S.
He started doing pop-ups tattoo shops in different cities, and one of them just happened to be in Kyle, Texas. Perfect. No coincidence. Not even a little.
On the way to the tattoo shop, Theresa and I were still deciding exactly what our tattoos would be. Psalm 46 kept circling in my mind. I originally thought Psalm 46:1 was the verse for me.
“God is our refuge and strength…”
But I kept saying Psalm 46:10 instead.
Theresa looked it up and read aloud, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
I knew those words lived in one of my favorite camp songs, but I couldn’t place it. I texted a close camp friend and she replied almost immediately, “Duh. Don’t Disturb the Ladybug. Your favorite. The one that always makes you cry.”
That was it. I knew then that Psalm 46:10 belonged with the double heart.
Fast forward to this book.
Melissa references a wildly popular New Thought teacher who also has “Be still” tattooed on her wrist. For her, that verse became a reminder of her own inner “Knowing.” She describes sensing something deep inside herself. A wisdom. An intuition. A source. Something she believes is God living within her. She says she now takes orders from her Knowing.
And here’s where the pause happened for me.
Because taken alone, “Be still and know” sounds beautiful. Peaceful. Even biblical.
But Scripture was never meant to be read in isolation.
So let’s read Psalm 46 as a whole:
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
Though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
That changes everything.
This verse is not about humans’ inner divinity or the power of our thoughts or our Knowing. It’s about God’s sovereignty. His authority. His power over nations, chaos, war, and yes… over us.
WOW.
When we cherry-pick what suits us, we can end up with something that sounds comforting but is totally incompatible with the Bible’s true message.
This really hit me hard. It convicted me deeply. Not just with Psalm 46:10, but with how many times I’ve done this in other places too. It’s made me slow down, pay attention, and commit to reading Scripture in its fullness, not just the parts that feel good in the moment.
I look at my tattoo with new eyes now.
Funny how so many people are averse to tattoos, when they can be visual reminders… even lessons… that the Lord uses to teach, correct, and draw us closer to Him.
So here’s my commitment.
I’m memorizing all of Psalm 46. Not just Be still.
All of it.
Because God is not asking me to find Him within myself.
He’s asking me to be still long enough to recognize who He is.
And that… changes everything.
