psalm 131

This morning I read Psalm 131. Safe to say I needed it very much.

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;

Typically, I tend to linger on verses such as these. Pride is a constant struggle. Far too often I have seen its ugliness and ruining effects. Daily I am in need of the humility perfectly exemplified and gifted by my Savior. But today, God's Spirit was not zeroing in on pride.

I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.

What do you do when all your time seems to revolve around the "too great and too wonderful?" I enjoy seminary. In the past year alone, God has allowed me to grow in my knowledge and understanding of Him. I am grateful for what He has shown me, and I look forward to what I still have left to learn. But recently, I have noticed a loss of amazement over the "simple and ordinary." And sadder still, I have started lumping the gospel message in that category. The life, death, resurrection, and reign of Christ fail to capture my gaze and attention. And that reveals a problem with me and not the truth of the gospel.

But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.

Here is where I lingered the longest. For all my learning and training, I am a still a child. I need nurturing. I need a calming influence. I need comforting. I need strength. I need faith in my heavenly Father to provide all those things. I need to be reminded that my hope now and forever rests in the message of the cross and empty tomb.

I pray this captivates my heart once again. I pray I see Christ as great and wonderful, which He far surpasses.