April 6th, 2009 by Kristi Stephens

This afternoon I read Psalm 131 – a beautiful little psalm that speaks to my mother’s heart:

O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever.

Verse 1 is interesting to me. The word “difficult” is the same Hebrew word that is translated “wonderful” in Job 42:3 -

“Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

How often in our pride do we declare things that are too wonderful, too difficult for us to understand? Job, although righteous of the great sin his friends assumed was behind his suffering, did start to question God’s goodness and challenge His judgement. (We’ll talk about that more when we get to Job.) There are many things about God and His ways that we will never fully grasp – it takes genuine humility before Him to be at rest with that, even when we don’t understand the difficulties and suffering in our lives.

How picturesque that the psalmist ties this rest in trusting God with what we cannot understand to the picture of a weaned child, content in his mother’s arms.

I was one of those “rare cases” of women who just could not nurse my children, so I can’t fully identify with the picture of a weaned child. It does remind me of LB, though! My little LB is a bruiser – he was a small-ish baby, but caught up fast and has been a BIG fan of eating ever since!

Many days I think that LB views me as some sort of human snack-dispenser. The moment his feet hit the ground in the morning, he starts signing “more” with great vigor and will follow me around whining and signing until he gets something to eat. This scene is repeated mid-morning, before lunch, after naptime, and the entire time while I make dinner. It’s rather maddening!

LB is also a great cuddler. AG was never terribly content to just rest in our arms – she liked to be near us, but snuggling was something she learned to appreciate with age.   I’m always amazed at LB because of that – as manic and crazy as he can be, he loves to give hugs and kisses and just be held (most of the time). If you have a book in your hands, even better – you become the most attractive seat in the house.

Those rare moments when he stops demanding food and just rests against me, totally relaxed, are such precious times. He doesn’t want a graham cracker, he just wants me. Mommy’s presence satisfies him and gives him comfort.

How much joy and peace do we rob ourselves of when we see God only as our “divine dispenser” of desired things? We follow Him around demanding that He make us comfortable, take away our suffering and the discord around us, satisfy our carnal cravings, explain Himself to us. If we would just be still, just rest in His arms, just allow His presence to comfort and satisfy us in a way that those other things cannot… if only we would be humble and dependent like a child.

Lord, I am not proud and haughty.
I don’t think myself better than others. I don’t pretend to “know it all.” I am quiet now before the Lord, just as a child who is weaned from the breast. Yes, my begging has been stilled.
O Israel, you too should quietly trust in the Lord – now, and always.
Psalm 131 (TLB)