Good News: Finding peace through childlike trust
Have you come to that point in life yet where you realize you don’t have it all together? King David did. He wrote Psalm 131, one of the shortest Psalms to read, but one of the hardest to accomplish. The Passion paraphrase of the Bible words this Psalm’s three simple verses this way, “Lord, my heart is meek before you. I don’t consider myself better than others. I’m content to not pursue matters that are over my head—such as your complex mysteries and wonders—that I’m not yet ready to understand. I am humbled and quieted in your presence. Like a contented child who rests on its mother’s lap, I’m your resting child and my soul is content in you. O people of God, your time has come to quietly trust, waiting upon the Lord now and forever.”
Amazing words from a worldly-wise king and military tough guy. But, as David laments, most of this stuff was over his head and he was tired of trying to figure it all out. Are you there yet? There comes a point where we must become childlike in our trust of God and in the quietness and simplicity of our lifestyle. Why do people wear themselves out? For what? The apostle Paul told Timothy, an up and coming young pastor, “We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.” As the old saying goes, “You’ll never see a U-Haul following a hearse to the cemetery.” King David said he was like a contented child resting on its mother’s lap. And that’s where all of us must get to if we are going to make it through this life in one piece physically and, mentally, possess peace.
It could be tough for the more macho among us to assume that kind of attitude but that’s exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 18 when the disciples asked him who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus called a small child over to Him and had the child stand among them. “Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child—this one is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” It makes no sense to the adult mind, but we need to go backward in time to regain the trust, contentment, and simple faith that we had as children. That’s how our heavenly Father wants us to be.
The most difficult part for some folks will be taking the initiative to actually quiet their own soul and invest the time in themselves to rest in the Lord. David did it while trying to run a country. If he did it, so can we. “O people of God, your time has come to quietly trust, waiting upon the Lord now and forever.”
Ken Staley is the pastor of Faith Church of Pleasant Grove, 9:30 a.m. and Harrisville Methodist Church, 11 a.m. Both are Global Methodist congregations. PastorKenStaley@gmail.com
