Stilled and Quieted Soul

Wow! Time slides by way too fast. For those of us in ministry, we move from one "situation" to the next, hoping to find a little time for planning and implementation related to our ministry. But it was like that for me long before being called to the pastorate. Life seems to spiral out of control most of the time. The demands of the day/week/month pile up and you frantically try to meet all your obligations. Then, on Sunday morning, you hear that you need a day off, a Sabbath. You need to create margin in your life. You need to spend quality and quantity time with your family. Oh yeah, and you need to volunteer in the dozens of spots where we have need at the church. It seems like you're being called to conflicting lifestyles. What does God really expect of you?

This post is a week late because I had a crazy, out of control week during the time when I was trying to share a relevant psalm with you. Isn't that the way it works? Whenever I want to explain something from God's Word, He shows me that I need to allow that principle to work in my own life first. So, here's the psalm I wanted to share with you last week, but I was too busy...

Psalm 131 A song of ascents.

My heart is not proud, O LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.

A psalm of ascents was a song sung by Jews as they climbed the mountain to Jerusalem to worship God. And look at the message, so short, but so direct:

I don’t value myself too highly in comparison with other people; I don’t consider myself up to challenges that surpass me.

Instead, I find my peace in You and You alone. Like a child who once cried out for a mother’s breast to quench his hunger, but now is satisfied with a mother’s loving embrace, I find satisfaction in You, my God. In You, I have contentment.

Is God your greatest desire? Is the rule and reign of Christ in your own life, in your small group, in our church, in the world the longing of your soul? This is the psalm which the Lord continually places before my eyes and my thoughts. Is He sufficient for us? Is He our heart’s desire? Is He our greatest treasure? Then, tell Him so… pray.