"O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore." Many benchmarks throughout the year cause us to reflect–-birthdays, anniversaries, life changes, the New Year, etc.–-and these reflections often bring a desire to see things be better. However, many resolutions made do not produce the improvements we want. Christians, however, base their hope on one simple promise: those who trust in Jesus Christ and follow Him will be changed. This radical transformation promised in the gospel is what gives hope to every individual who acknowledges their sin and need for a Savior. Those who recognize their need and repent are invited to draw near to God and find redemption. This salvation establishes a new relationship between an individual and God, and every believer is called to live a new life of faith and peace. This life of faith means seeking God’s will and listening to His voice. Unfortunately, God’s voice is not the only one that urges obedience. The world is full of noisy idols seeking to convince people to follow. The world is busy with activity, and the busyness can easily become a distraction for those who seek to live by faith. Being busy can reveal a life of devotion and diligence, but it can also reveal a lack of clarity and divided loyalty. Scripture commends those who are fully committed to seeking God. For example, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him” (2 Chron 16:9). Scripture encourages prayer for a heart that takes God more seriously than anything else (Ps 86:11). So how does a Christian manage to live by faith in a busy world? Psalm 131 provides three encouragements to equip worshippers to walk by faith.
1) Go to God First, those who walk by faith must go to worship God. Psalm 131 verse one reads, “A Song of Ascents,” because it is one of the Songs of Ascents (Psalms 120-134). Three times a year every male of Israel was required to leave what he was doing and make a journey up to Jerusalem to worship the LORD (Deut 16:16). Jerusalem is higher in elevation than the surrounding region, so anyone coming to Jerusalem literally had to ascend to get there. While worshippers ascended they would use the Songs of Ascent to prepare themselves for worship. The entire backdrop of this Psalm is that a worshipper must leave his current position and go to meet with God, and this requires preparation. We could think of those who have been scuba diving; there is a decompression period that is required to safely ascend to the surface again because the environment you came from, with all of its pressure, is different from the environment you intend to enter. People could not leave their animals, farms, or duties at the drop of a hat if they were going to be gone for days or weeks to travel to Jerusalem. But another form of preparation was equally, if not more, important: the preparation of the heart. Psalm 120 was the first Psalm to aid in this preparation, and it begins by lamenting the fact that too much time has been spent by the worshipper in places he should not have been, and with people who were opposed to the kingdom of God (Ps 120:4-5). Could not the same be true of us? The worshipper needed to come and worship God by leaving the busy world that is full of idols behind. Those who argue they are “too busy” to go to God in worship betray their misplaced priorities. The Sabbaths and Feasts of Israel served to establish a rhythm of life for God’s people; refusal to embrace this rhythm (due to the “demands” of other voices) is a rejection of the authority of God. No one is too busy to worship God because everyone has precisely the time needed to do what God desires. To reject this fact is to deny the sovereignty of God. Those who walk by faith are compelled to go to God whatever the cost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. 2) Let Go Before God Second, those who walk by faith must settle their soul. Agreeing that going to worship God is vital is one thing, knowing how to do it is another. Faith is a contest of tug-of-war: God’s voice pulls us in one direction, and the “other” voices pull us in other directions. We must choose which direction to go, which means we must choose a voice to heed and which to tune out. David begins Ps 131 by confessing his humility; he does not think too highly of himself or concern himself with matters he knows to be beyond his ability (v1). Instead, he informs us that he “calmed and quieted [his] soul (v2).” David embraced what I would call "the blessing of limitations," which freed him to let some things go. David could see the boundaries God placed on his life and concluded his good was to be found within those limitations. Often we feel anxious because we are trying to operate beyond our limits. We have decided for whatever reason that we are supposed to be something or somewhere, but experience and knowledge repeatedly remind us we cannot make it. And rather than see our limits as part of God’s guidance, we rebel to our harm. Ps 127:2 warns a person who refuses to be governed by his limits: “It is in vain that you rise early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for [God] gives His beloved sleep.” This rejection of God’s limits comes because we tolerate some other competing voice that demands obedience, and this is the source of inner turmoil. David’s soul was like a raging sea that was stirred up by powerful, competing forces, but he managed to put an end to the competition so that his soul was like a still lake in the early morning. How did he do this? He continues: “Like a weaned child with its mother...is my soul within me (v2).” An infant cries for milk and nothing else will satisfy. But the day comes when the child learns that he can go without the very thing he thought he could never be content without. So it is with us. We become convinced that our happiness and contentment depend on “that” because that is what the “other” voices keep saying. We calm and quiet our souls when we learn to turn off those "other" voices and let go of "those" promises. David did not claim to calm and quiet his circumstances–he could only quiet his heart. If we want the same blessing, we must choose to disregard the “other” voices so that we can let go and be content. 3) Embrace God’s Promises This leads to the third encouragement. Those who walk by faith must take hold of the promises of God. We can wean ourselves from the demands of the “other” voices only when we choose to take hold of something better. Infants learn to give up milk because they come of age to eat solid food. Christians become weaned from the promises of sin when we taste the superior promises of God. David concludes his Psalm by urging God’s people to “hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore (v3).” This command to hope requires us to focus our attention. We turn our expectations from the promises of the world and take hold of the promises of God. In the movie Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, there is a powerful scene that illustrates my point. Indiana Jones has found the holy grail, but an earthquake has opened the earth and the grail has fallen into it. Indiana was about to fall in himself when his father grabbed his hand, but since Indiana is hanging from the edge he believes he is within reach of the grail. Indiana keeps reaching for the grail despite the fact his father calls for him to give his other hand, as he is slipping. Indiana can keep trying to reach the grail or he can give the second hand to his father and be saved, but he cannot do both. His father finally calls his son by his preferred name, something the father previously refused to do, in order to break into Indiana’s attention. With that, the father gently says, “Let it go.” Indiana finally gives up reaching for the grail, which was not truly within reach (something Indiana was refusing to admit), and gives his other hand to his father to be pulled up. Similarly, walking by faith requires we finally let the promises of sin go and take hold of our Father with both hands. We let go of the thing we were so certain would make us happy so that we are free to fully take hold of what God has promised. We cannot have both Jesus and sin. We cannot be both godly and worldly. We must choose and take hold with both hands. Final Thought As we contemplate ways to see things improve in our lives, we need to reflect on where we have been and what we have been doing. Perhaps we have spent too much time in places we should not have been, and we have been influenced too much by the voices of those not seeking the kingdom of God. Psalm 131 encourages us to seek the Lord by going to Him in worship, letting go of things not for us, and taking hold of God’s promises.
1 Comment
Nancy Wilson
8/17/2023 06:21:50 am
Andy, thanks so much for these enriching articles. I enjoy every one.
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AuthorI am follower of Jesus Christ by God's grace, married to Kelsey, father to four children, and pastor of Lighthouse Church (EPC). Archives
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