Psalm 131:1-2 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.
But I have stilled and quietened my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

What a beautiful, refreshing picture of trust! We do need to grow and mature, but there are various child-like qualities that are valuable indeed, and that we really don’t need to lose even as we get older. We have such trouble getting to be like this passage says. We want to figure things out, to have all the answers in our hands, but very often that is impossible, or is simply an illusion. We don’t like to admit that! God has given us minds and abilities and expects us to use them, but if we forget their limits we get ourselves into big trouble. Scientific inquiry is a good and honorable thing, but we tend to forget that there is far more that we don’t know than we do know. That’s a hard pill to swallow for some people! If everything were knowable, there would be no need or room for faith. That’s precisely where some people want to take us, but they have no grasp of how incredibly poorer that would make us. We need to remember that we are very much like mayflies, that have a lifespan of 24 hours, when compared to God. There is no way we could have His level of wisdom and understanding, but that’s not a bad thing. David was a king, back when kings really did run their countries, and he had a lot of authority and responsibility. However, he also had the wisdom to know that the right attitude before God is that of an obedient, trusting child.

I wish I could say I always maintain such an attitude! I’ve never been especially power-hungry when it comes to other people, but I do like to control what happens in my own life. Fat chance, as the saying goes. A major part of the stress in my life comes from precisely this point of trying to be in control. I need to be a faithful steward of the resources and opportunities I am given, but I need to maintain a trusting, obedient attitude toward the One who really is in control. He told me several years ago that there is a lot in the world today that He’s not happy about, but that’s because of the free will He has given to mankind. He still has the last say, and I’ve got to trust Him with that. I need to remember that everything my senses tell me is temporal and thus temporary, and as Paul said, operate by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) That is the path, as the Lord has told me, to rest, relax, and rejoice.

Father, thank You for being absolutely trustworthy. Thank You for continuing to grow and train me in trusting You. Keep me from being passive, resigned, fatalistic, but at the same time help me leave the steering wheel in Your hands, so to speak. Help me be Your agent of blessing to all I encounter, and help me recognize and receive the blessings You have for me through others, so that You may receive all the glory as Your will is accomplished. Thank You. Praise God!