TRUST GOD AND SLEEP LIKE A BABY!

IF YOU WANT TO FIND PEACE YOU MUST TRUST GOD!

Psalm 131

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.

In this psalm, David is expressing his humility before the LORD and his submissive trust in Him, which brings. restful peace to his soul.

His heart is not lifted up, his is not proud or presumptuous, for he has decided to let God take care of the many things that are beyond his reach.

We know that God opposes our pride, for pride is sinful and worldly. Friendship with the world, and dependence on earthly resources lure our hearts away from our proper dependence upon God:

James 4:4-6

        You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Pride causes men to think to less of God and more highly of themselves than they ought! In doing so, they are actually scorning God!

Proverbs 3:34

        Toward the scorners he is scornful,

                but to the humble he gives favor.

Our relationship with God begins when we humble ourselves before Him and recognize that we cannot do anything to save ourselves. We need to trust in Christ alone for salvation, and even our service as children of God should be done in total dependence and humility.

Ephesians 2:8-10

        For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

       

I love the response of Job, as he begins to understand who God is.

Job 42:2-6

        “I know that you can do all things,

                and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.

        ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’

        Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,

                things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

        ‘Hear, and I will speak;

                I will question you, and you make it known to me.’

        I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,

                but now my eye sees you;

        therefore I despise myself,

                and repent in dust and ashes.”

Job recognizes God’s total control over everything. He recognizes that any time we question God, we overstep our boundaries. The only response to the holy and perfect God is total trust and submission!

I realize that this theme is repeated so often, but I also know that I am so prone to pride, that I need to hear this over and over again.

We ask ourselves if we are being proud, and the image David gives us in this psalm shows one of the ways to know if we are trusting God: total rest!

Nothing is more nerve-racking for a father than taking care of a baby when the child is hungry and there is no food in sight! A pacifier, a finger, a walk might distract a child for a bit, but not for long. What a contrast to holding a child when he has been feed and cared for. I used to love to hold my children when they were in that complete state of peace: satisfied, happy, restful!

The writer paints that image very well. So my question today to me and to you is this: which baby depicts us? Are we fussing and crying with short moments of distraction, ready to be upset again and again? Or are we resting in the arms of God, satisfied with God’s perfect care?

Dear friends, we  know that the best start for our day is a time of meditation on who God is and what  His purposes are, as we read His Word, and then prayer that our wills become aligned with those purposes.

When we are trusting God completely, then we can invite others to find this same peaceful rest, just as David invites Israel to put their hope in the LORD, from today and through all eternity!