Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.

I don’t concern myself with matters too great

Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,

like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.

Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—now and always.

(Psalm 131)

I love the Psalms. They speak the language of the heart. Joy, sorrow, longing, anger, worry, doubt, pain and hope, the broken shards of human clay lie scattered in each and every line of the Psalmist poetry.

Some Psalms are long, really, really long. While others sum up the secrets of heaven in a few full-bodied lines of script. Psalm 131 is one of those chapters, a quick shot of perfect wisdom for the heart that weighs heavy. 

It is the Psalm of Childlike Faith. I want you to walk through this with me today because we need it. My job as a pastor is to help you make the pages of God’s word usable. God wants to calm your soul, and so he has left us God-breathed, Spirit-inspired “apples of gold in pictures of silver.” I also believe meditation is a great way to start the week.

MOVEMENT ONE (Verse 1): “A Child is Quick to Admit their Lack”

“My heart is not proud.” A child gets it. They are born into the world small, and because of that they accept their comparative smallness without complaint or struggle. They are not proud or haughty as compared to the maturity and strength of their parents. How could they be, their mind has not formed fully, their arms and legs are tiny, and their parents long to care for them.

David is using the example of the child and applying his comparative smallness with the grandeur and greatness of the Sovereign Lord. As he considers the world around him and the control that God has over it, he knows he knows nothing. Instead of trying to figure it all out, he lets God be God in the difficult matters of life.

Do you let God be God, or do you worry, calculate, project, and read 17 articles on how to fix the world? David realizes that there are things that are “too great”, and “too awesome” for him to worry about. So here is what he does…

MOVEMENT TWO (Verse 2): “A Normal Child Stops Crying”

David says that there is a stage in a baby’s life where they learn to be calm. It is after a child has been weaned. When a child comes into the world immediately they are hungry. And in their hunger they cry and wail, it is a survival response thinking if they don’t get fed “now” they will die. I can remember when I first brought my children home I would lie them down in their crib and the minute you left them they would turn red like a beet and cry out to be fed. 

When a person has weak faith, they are quick to cry out too. Crying and wailing in the adult world is translated into worry and anxiety. When your stomach is churning, and you can’t sleep because the things that are “too great” overwhelm your mind. You must figure it out…but you can’t, you are not God.

So your faith needs to mature. 

When a child is weaned, solid food can now be eaten. But a very interesting thing happens, children don’t cry about it like they used to. They have learned in a short couple of months, mom and dad will take care of their needs. The hunger wail is unnecessary when your parents have proved reliable. 

Has God proved himself reliable in your life? If he has, let your faith mature and stop trying to always figure out the things you never can. Romans 5:3-5 puts it like this, 

“we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

MOVEMENT THREE (Verse 3): “A Child Rests in His Parent’s Arms”

The Psalm ends in a short and sweet manner, “put your hope in the Lord.” I know you can’t figure it out, you never will. So let God take it for you. That is never more important than now. Don’t let your mind run wild, instead, go to God. Let today be enough. 

Somehow three of my kids have already graduated High School, with one to go. Somehow they have jobs and they are still alive. Somehow they don’t seem worried like I do through difficulties. Because they let me worry.

Let’s learn from our kids and let our heavenly Dad carry the load for us. And let him do it both now, and forevermore!