Sayre Woods Bible Church

Read and meditate on Psalm 131 today:

1 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.

 2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
       like a weaned child with its mother,
       like a weaned child is my soul within me.

 3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
       both now and forevermore.

There is much to consider and meditate on in this Psalm. Ever feel stressed? Overwhelmed? Like you are about to break? David certainly felt this way at times. Being king over a nation like Israel certainly stretched him to the breaking point on many occasions. The responsibilities were endless; the battles kept coming; his work never seemed done. I am convinced that David wrote this psalm after a stressful day. Things were flying at him from all corners. He was tired from the day…tired of the responsibilities…just plain tired. In the evening he began to regain focus and the words of Psalm 131 began to flow out.

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. Could it be that at the root of most, if not all, of our stress is pride? We take on more than we are intended to take on. We overestimate ourselves. We believe that we have to solve all of life’s problems…and the problems of others. The serenity prayer captures David’s thought: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. David had to learn this truth. He had to let go of things that were beyond his control. Stick to his calling. Shelve his pride. Curb his appetite for “greatness.” Seek to be faithful. And quiet his soul.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. David had to calm himself down. Take some deep breaths. Remind himself that he was not God and instead focus on the One Who is. He had to learn to rest in God…”like a weaned child.” Interesting analogy. You would almost expect the picture to be of a “nursed child”–a child who has been fed and now rests in his mother’s arms. Instead David refers to a “weaned child.” I had to look up Spurgeon’s commentary on Psalms for a little more insight. Here is what he said:

To the weaned child his mother is his comfort though she had denied him comfort. It is a blessed mark of growth out of spiritual infancy when we can forego the joys which once appeared essential, and can find our solace in him who denies them to us; then we behave manfully, and every childish complaint is hushed.

I had to reflect on that awhile. I thought of my own kids. There are certain things that they have to have. Walking through a toy store, everything seems essential. As an adult, I know that no matter what toy is bought, its joy will only last a moment and then another toy becomes the object of desire. Yet they still don’t see it. Perhaps I don’t either. Contentment is a hard lesson to learn. “The next thing” always promises more than it can deliver. Peace comes from being “weaned” of this incessant desire for more, for greatness, for being seen as significant in the eyes of others, for needing things to make me happy. When I can simply rest in my relationship with God, without demanding more and more things from Him, then I have reached the rest that God intended for me.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore. David now turns to the nation that he leads, the nation that wanted more and more, the nation that probably demanded more and more from him as king and he says to them, “I am sorry if I have disappointed you. I am sure I will continue to do so. I can’t satisfy all your longings. I can’t resolve all your problems. I can’t meet all your expectations. All I can do is point you to the LORD. Put your hope in Him. He is the One you need. I know because I need Him too.”

Lord, help me quiet my soul. Help me let go of my need to be great, to feel needed, to have all the toys of this world, to meet all the expectations of others. Help me let go of these things and run into Your arms. Wean me from my childish needs and selfish desires so that I can totally rest in You and enjoy Your love.

Read, meditate on, and memorize Psalm 121:1-2 today:

I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

These verses are a good reminder as our country enters a new presidential administration. Whether “our candidate” wins or not in an election, these verses remind us that our help and hope should never be in a politician or political party. May we temper our excitement when our political choice wins and quiet our angst and anxiety when he/she does not.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. This psalm was probably sung as the people walked the rocky roads up toward Jerusalem. Instead of looking at the rocky path or complaining about the journey, the psalmist chooses to keep his eyes focused on Jerusalem, where he will worship the Lord in the beauty of His holiness and seek Him in His temple (Psalm 27:4).

Where does my help come from? The psalmist rhetorically asks himself, “What am I trusting in for my security, peace, and prosperity?” Instead of trusting in man or in the military or in his own strength, the psalmist chooses to put his ultimate security and hope in the LORD (Psalm 118:8-9).

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. The One who has the power to make the heaven and earth, the eternal One, Yahweh, the One who does not change and is unaffected by time, the God of truth and mercy, this is the One the psalmist chooses to trust in.

Where is my hope today? Where do I go for help? What are my eyes focusing on? Lord, help the eyes of my heart to be focused on You today.

Read and meditate on Psalm 42:11 today:

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise Him,
my Savior and my God.

I love Psalm 42. It is the honest prayer of a person who loves God yet finds that their soul is simply “out of whack.” The psalmist feels abandoned by God…Why have You forgotten me? (42:9)…oppressed by others…Why must I go about mourning oppressed by the enemy? (42:9)…and overwhelmed with depression and grief within himself…My tears have been my food day and night (42:3). He longs to experience the joy of God once again but it simply isn’t happening. The emotions are not there. His soul is disturbed. His heart is downcast. To make matters worse, he vividly remembers the times in his life when he experienced the joy of praising God (42:4). But those times seem like a distant memory now. Try as he may, he can’t force a smile or sense any joy in his life.

So what does he do? He talks to God and talks to himself. He cries out to God. He pours out his soul to Him, holding nothing back. Then he turns his attention to his own soul.

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? He takes a good long look at himself. “What’s going on inside of me? Why can’t I shake the grief and depression? Why can’t I get my eyes off these troubles and back onto God?” He is forcing himself to face the problem instead of running from it. He is not shutting down but rather opening up his heart to the searchlight of God.

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God. In determination and faith, the psalmist points his heart back toward God. He doesn’t feel the joy but he is going to fight for it. He is going to direct his eyes onto God, trust Him alone, and praise Him even in the midst of the storm. He doesn’t like the storm. He doesn’t understand it. But he is determined to trust God in the midst of it. 

What is interesting is that the words of Psalm 42:11 are repeated in 42:5 and 43:5. This tells me that the psalmist had to keep repeating these words to himself over and over. This was not a one-time action that suddenly solved all his problems. No, each moment of each day, he had to point himself back toward God. Each time his eyes stared at his problems, he had to break the stare and turn his eyes back toward hope. God was still on His throne. God still loved Him. And God could give him the strength to make it through.

Lord, at times my heart is “out of whack.” It just can’t find Your joy and Your peace. Help me to praise You in the midst of the storm. Fill me with Your Spirit today.

Read and meditate on Revelation 1:17-18 today:

And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

John sees Jesus again…only this time Jesus is not veiled in His humanity but rather appears in the splendor of His glory. John’s response is to collapse at Jesus’ feet. John had walked with Jesus, talked with Him, eaten with Him, lived with Him, but now, as he sees Jesus in the glory of His deity, all he can do is fall down in fear and worship. Jesus then speaks to John…

Do not be afraid. The most often repeated command in Scripture. Because of our separation from God, fear is at the core of our being. We are weak, vulnerable, and mortal and we know it. We may hide it well but the insecurity is there. John’s fear rises to the top when he comes face to face with the awesome power, glory, and holiness of God in Jesus Christ.

I am the First and the Last. Jesus is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega (1:8, 21:6, 22:12-20). This is a clear statement of His deity. He has no beginning…He is the beginning. He has no end…He is eternal.

I am He who lives and was dead and I am alive forevermore. Jesus lived, died, and lives again. His eternal nature could not be defeated by death. The power of His life is infinitely stronger than the bonds of physical death. He is the resurrection and the life.

I have the keys of Hades and Death. Jesus is the only defeater of death, the only One stronger than death, the only One who can restore us from death. He has authority over the grave, over Satan, and over physical and spiritual death. Therefore if sin and death are our ultimate enemies, then only Jesus is our ultimate Savior.

Lord, thank You for defeating death. I bow down and worship You today!

Read and meditate on Romans 11:33-36 today:

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
      How unsearchable his judgments,
      and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
      Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
      that God should repay him?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
      To him be the glory forever! Amen.

“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.” God is the source, means, and goal of all things. In other words, my life is from Him. He is my creator and designer. From my fingerprints to my personality, God has uniquely crafted me for His purposes.

My life is through Him. He is sustainer of my life. In Him, I live and move and have my very being (Acts 17:28). Every breath is a gift from Him. He is also the guide and overseer of my life. Every event that happens to me passes through His hands first.

My life is to Him. My life is to be lived for God’s glory. The goal of my life should be to shine forth the character of God. To praise Him verbally. To thank Him daily. To obey Him voluntarily. To live for Him joyfully.

I do not do this so that God will “owe” me…as if to say, ”God, I’ll acknowledge and serve You if You in turn give me happiness, good health, prosperity, comfort, and eternal life.” This passage reminds us, Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? God never owes me anything. Everything I have is a gift of His grace. We don’t live for God to get things from Him, we live for God because it is our purpose and our privilege to do so. As the Westminster catechism once taught us, “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

Lord, may my life be a reflection of You today. Fill me with Your joy, Your strength and Your peace for my life is “from You, through You, and to You” and without You I can do nothing.