“Father thank you for your quiet blessings and the silent depth of your love for me, and mine for you.”
This morning I read 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 by having to explain ourselves less. 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.
I read a wonderful thought by Timothy Keller regarding this 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
Wanting something is one aspect of what keeps us from finding contentment in God, but not humbling ourselves, and not being expected to, or having to, prove our commitment to each other is another.
When we find that we don't have to work so hard at a relationship, but that the love for one another's company goes without saying or need for constant proof... then a new depth exists, and we call it contentment, rest, peace, comfort, trust... you know the feeling and the words as well.
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 the fingers and is the greatest of our loves, friendships, and relationships; without Him all else falls away. He is the "and" in the word hand... 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
Lord, I humble myself in your presence, and find rest in the silent moments we are together. Knowing your will by knowing your Word, and who you are, comforts me and gives me peace. Father, our quiet times when I am just studying your Word or contemplating your goodness, are such times of rest and contentment for my soul. You are my all in all; the "and" in my clasped hands as I pray, in my hand as I number my friends, in each and every caress of my family's face. Father thank you for your quiet blessings and the silent depth of your love for me, and mine for you.