O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever (Psalm 131).
Soul-check time: How “at rest” are you? The answer to that will make all the difference in your worship, and your work.
This psalm of ascent is the confession of a soul at rest – a “weaned soul.”
The first verse speaks of three things the psalmist has turned away from – a proud heart, haughty eyes, or a mind that tries to figure out the impossible. The common theme in each – I know my limits. And I know my place. I am free of selfish ambition and arrogance toward others.
Are you ready to start your ascent today? Are you ready to start climbing out of that hole you’ve dug for yourself spiritually. There’s a good place to start. Let go of your pride and selfish ambition. Stop comparing yourself to other people. Recognize who you are, but also who you aren’t. Your soul will start resting the moment you do.
Just to be clear, verse 2 suggests that this is the result of a choice and some effort. The psalmist had composed and quieted his soul. He had disciplined himself to rest in the Lord like a weaned child rests against his mother.
I never knew what this psalm meant until we had unweaned babies. They were never still when Mama was around and they were hungry.
The weaned child knows that he does not have to be desperate or fear starvation. He trusts his mother and loves her beyond her ability to be a milk dispenser.
In the same way, we ascend when we learn to build our hope in God’s love for us that goes beyond our desire to have more, be more, do more.
It’s the irony of rest. I rise more, accomplish more, and do more from a position of resting in God’s heart than I ever will in reaching for God’s hand – or my stars.
So will you. Rest first. Then reach.
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Ah! Yes! Rest first, then reach. Beautifully said, Andy.
Martha Orlando´s last blog post ..Baby Steps
This was water for my soul thank you. Your ministry has been such a blessing in my life this year. It feels at times as though you are literally looking at my life when writing your posts. May God bless for being such a blessing to others
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