12/03/2024
This morning my devotional reading took me to Psalms 131, and it spoke to me. This psalm is only three verses long, but what wonderful verses they are. The message delivered here is one of contentment; a humbling that allows us to be with The Lord without feeling the need to perform in our faith, but rather, to find contentment in just being with Him.
“Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever.”
Psalms 131:1-3 KJV
When we are establishing a relationship with a new friend or potential spouse, we are driven to find out as much about them as we can, and open the floodgate of ourselves too. We talk for hours on end... for days and months. Then over time, the friendship, or relationship, grows deeper and we find that the words are fewer as the comfort with that person allows us to communicate more out of understanding, and less by having to explain ourselves. True friends, old friends, and those in love, are comfortable in silence... comfortable in just being with one another. This is the relationship with God that the psalmist is revealing to us in this short psalm.
I read a wonderful thought by Timothy Keller regarding this particular psalm. He describes the metaphor of the nursing child in this way:
"A nursing child, held by its mother, is highly aware of the milk she can offer and will squirm and cry if denied. A child who has been "weaned", however, and no longer nurses, is content just to be with its mother, enjoying her closeness and love without wanting anything else. We so often approach God only for what He can give, rather than simply to rest in His presence." - Timothy Keller
Always wanting something from God is one aspect of what keeps us from finding contentment in Him. This comes complete with a lack of humbling ourselves before Him. It is not being expected to, or having to, constantly prove our commitment to Him, or His to us.
When we find that we don't have to work so hard at a relationship, but that our love for one another's company goes without saying, or the need for constant proof... then a new depth exists, in a relationship, and we come to explain its existence by using such words as contentment, rest, peace, comfort, trust... you know the feeling, and use these words as well.
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.”
Psalm 62:5
Depth such as this is precious indeed. Aside from family, we can typically count close friends by the fingers on one hand, but God is like our palm... He holds all of these fingers together, and is the greatest of our loves, friendships, and relationships; without Him all else falls away. He is the "and" in our hand of words... nothing can be completely joined with us without His presence. Our friendships are truly a reflection of our relationship with Him.
“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18:24 KJV
Prayer:
Thank you Father for the quiet, and silence, of your love, and the contentment of spirit you call us to rest in. Lord, I humble myself in your presence, and find rest in every silent moment we are together. My faith in your love for me comes by knowing your Word, and understanding who you are as your Holy Spirit serves to comfort me, and gives me peace. Father, my quiet times, those I spend resting in your Word, or contemplating your goodness, are just such moments of peace and contentment for my soul. You are my all in all; the "and" in my clasped hands as I pray. You are the palm of my hand as I count my friends, and loves, in you. You hold my fingers gently in place as I lovingly caress my wife’s face, and are the palms of my hands as I cradle my children's faces between them. You allow me to hold my index finger softly across my lips as I say “shush now my love” to those I desire to enjoy in loving silence, and as I signal my contentment to them during our quiet moments. Father thank you for your peace in my relationship, your quiet blessings, and the silent depth of your love for me… and mine for you.
Hear this my prayer Abba, spoken softly to you and before all those you love so dearly. Hear this my prayer as I whisper it into the world in an attempt to quiet the turmoil that is there; a world that is writhing in chaos while proclaiming it possesses true love; a world that is lost to lust, and finds only a muddy shallowness in its relationships… a world that denies that it is unsatisfied, and frustrated in these raucous and superficial relationships. Help them Father to see the love you have for them, and to hear the silence of it so that you can bring them contentment, and peace, while breathing rest into their lives, thus satisfying their every need in one another… and in you. Call them to your Son Jesus Christ who will lead them into the palm of your hand where they can find order, gentleness, and your quiet love, forevermore. Praised be your name Father as we proclaim our love for you in soft whispers of Holy, Holy, Holy, is this our God. Holy is this The Great I Am who cradles our faces in the palms of His hands.
And those blessed in Him whisper… Amen, Amen, Amen.
“And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?””
1 Kings 19:11-13 ESV
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.””
John 3:16-17 ESV
Rich Forbes