I can still remember the framed picture hanging on the 70’s-era gold-speckled wallpaper in my brother’s bedroom. It was a drawing of a lion, in blue ink, with the words of Isaiah 30:15, “…In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

I loved the sound of that. And the lion looked so peaceful and strong. There was only one problem: of course he’s quiet and confident, he’s a lion! No one will mess with him, or survive if they try. Where does that leave me?

The picture actually portrayed the opposite of the scripture’s truth. Our confidence is NOT in our strength, in who we are, but our great God. We are strong when our hearts are quiet and confident in Him.

It is this confidence, knowing God’s strength, that allows us to be still. Psalm 46:10 is often cited in isolation as an exhortation to rest, but the context of the psalm shows otherwise. The Psalmist is in the middle of a war—he is in trouble (v. 1), the earth is upheaval (v. 2), the nations are raging (v. 6)! This isn’t about being still in our reading chairs or on a beach at sunset, but in the heart of the battle.

Reading this passage with former gang members has helped me understand this better. They know from experience that the scariest person in a fight isn’t the one who’s yelling and flailing wildly—it’s the one who’s still. That person is centered, focused, unflappable…quiet and confident.

Whatever battles we face—political unrest, pandemic, persecution, illness, conflict, burnout—we can be still, not because we are lions, but because we know the Lion of Judah is at our side.