David in Psalms 131 seems to be having a heart to heart moment with the LORD.He says, “LORD, my heart is not [a]haughty, Nor my eyes [b]lofty. Neither do I [c]concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too [d]profound for me.2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, Like a weaned child with his mother; Like a weaned child is my soul within me.3 O Israel, hope in the LORD From this time forth and forever.
I have had a chance to watch my niece and two nephews being weaned. It wasn’t always a pretty scene, rarely is for most babies. On the one hand is excitement at this new taste to the new foods they have been introduced to. They have never tasted anything that sweet or salty perhaps even fried food. On the other hand, it’s time to move from milk to solid food. In those initial stages of a baby’s life, the baby will have become so used to being nursed by the mother but during the time of weaning, such delights are now withdrawn or moderated. There might be some screams wrapped together with the baby’s excitement to the new food.
Growth. Maturity. Trust.
David paints for us a picture of such a child, quieted from within. We see a baby lying on its mother’s bosom. Probably now fully satisfied after a bowl of food. A quiet trust in its mother who has the most precious and beautiful thoughts towards him even in serving this new meal. He has both delights but in moderation; the new food marking maturity or growth but also the comfort of being in its mother’s arms. He is possibly not on the mum’s breast for milk, not anymore.
Like a weaned child, so can we also quietly rest in God’s faithfulness towards us. God has beautiful thoughts for you and I and everything He does concerning us is perfect. He is a loving father who matures us from one season to the next.
In a beautiful way and perhaps because of my love for quiet spaces and the refreshment I draw from nature, I see similarities between this child with its mother and what David also shares with us in Psalms 23 .That the Lord is my shepherd; I shall not [a]want.2 He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures; He leads me beside the [c]still waters.3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
You and I shall not want anything. God is a Father and like a shepherd who cares for his sheep tenderly and lovingly, He shall ensure we have no want for anything. We learnt in school about there being a difference between needs and wants. So,us wanting for nothing means our needs are not even up for discussion. He has taken care of that and more. He also attends to our wants (i.e what we can possibly do without but perhaps desire ).He satisfies us with every good thing just because He can. Psalms 84:11 says-For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Is it a good thing for you? He will not withhold it from you provided you are His traveling companion (says the amplified version). Psalms 145:16 also says He (God) opens his hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing.
The shepherd in Psalms 23, leads his sheep on green pastures and quiet waters where they can rest after feeding. Just like a mother gives her child solid food because the child is growing up and lets the baby lie on her bosom. God will lead us in the best of places for us to feed from and usher us into rest in Him. A baby’s digestive system needs a lot more than milk to grow in the next stage of their life. God, just like a loving parent desires us to grow us and will provide what we need for that next stage of every facet of our lives. Trust Him to lead you to these green pastures.
Doesn’t this sound like an invitation to simply trust God and to rest in just who God is? Both chapters depict a reliance -of the sheep on its shepherd and a baby on its mother. David in verse 1 of chapter 131 shows a totally surrendered man,fully content in God. He is at peace in his inner person ,a quiet trust in God. He says, my heart is not [a]haughty, Nor my eyes [b]lofty. Neither do I [c]concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too [d]profound for me .Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul like this weaned child.
Never doubt God as having beautiful thoughts towards you. He really does. I pray that you will have an inner assurance that He is leading you as you quietly rest in Him. He is perfecting everything that concerns you. Trust God.
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