Real Rest

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 131 for in it David looks back over his long life and makes what I consider to be some profound statements--"my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me" (vs.1). After years of following the Lord and serving Him. After many mistakes and many victories David comes to the end of his life and understands what it is to truly rest in the Lord. He's way past trying to impress others, in thinking more highly of himself than he should. He understands all too well the reality of his own depravity (that major incident with Bathsheba comes to mind as does the fact that David had taken numerous wives over his life, and he refused to discipline his own wayward children, namely Absalom the rebel). David knew that it was the Lord who took him from being a shepherd to being King of God's people in spite of his depravity. He grasped clearly his own depravity and God's abundant mercy. He didn't "involve himself in great matters, things too difficult for him." Now there is a lesson for many of us to grasp. I understand him to say that he had turned his back on trying to impress others and himself with what he could accomplish, with trying to "take on the world" and prove that he was a "real man." He had come to a point of realistically understanding who he was, what he was to do, and what his human limitations were. He is not lazy, or unwilling to take up a challenge. What I understand him to say was that he wasn't living to impress, to try and prove he was something he really wasn't. He was free from any performance pressure. The next verses describe the extent of his contentment. "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" (vs.2). It's been nearly 10 years now since we've had any children who needed to be weaned so I have to "jog the memory" to remember how upset a child who is being weaned can be. I still remember standing in the basement with my wife as the weaning process took place telling her that despite the wailing we heard from our child's bedroom that this was necessary and the child would survive. The difference between a weaned child resting against it's mother is a drastically different picture than one of a hungry baby screaming for something to eat. David describes the contentment of his soul as that of a weaned child--peace, tranquility, settledness, serenity. Well, if you are no longer trying to impress, to win the "performance" war, to "make a big splash" in life it can be very freeing. David knew that freedom and I long to know it as well. In the busyness and hurry of life, with all of the expectations and demands on our time, energy, and resources it is difficult to rest, to trust, to completely rely upon the Lord as a weaned child resting against his/her mother. I want to live in the "sweet spot" David found. He gives the key in verse 3--"...hope in the Lord." Trust in God not in the applause, approval, accolades of men. Trust in the Lord not in my ability, talent, wisdom, skill. Trust in the Lord that he is working through me and in spite of me. Be willing to say NO, to limit commitments even if others view my decisions with skepticism, criticism, and/or rebuke.

Lord, help me to trust in you and to know the serenity of soul that David had. May the soul of each of us be like a "weaned child resting against his mother."