(Psalm 131:1-3)
1 Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes arrogant;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
2 I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child resting against his mother,
My soul within me is like a weaned child.
3 Israel, wait for the Lord
From this time on and forever.
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
2 I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child resting against his mother,
My soul within me is like a weaned child.
3 Israel, wait for the Lord
From this time on and forever.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Pride and arrogance can only get us into great trouble! It is when we allow pride and arrogance to gain a foothold, that we try to take on things which are outside of our control. Even king David knew this. To rest in the Lord is not about "just sitting back and doing nothing while we wait". It is all about striving to remain steadfast, while relying on the Lord to sort out our struggles, and to trust that He will take care of even the crazy big things happening around us. We are not sovereign... only God is. The Lord is omniscient, omnipotent and everywhere-present.
While our faith is not - or should not - be in people, we should also know that we cannot - and should not - try to control people. As soon as we think our way is the best and everyone should do what we want, our pride and arrogance causes us to become self-righteous. We are not perfect... only God is. The Lord is perfectly holy, righteous, just and fair, and His word is perfect, right and true.
As believers, while we have been forgiven of all our sins, we will still struggle to control ourselves, so what makes us think that we should or can control others? Even God gives everyone free will. In His great love, He paid the price for all sin, for all people, whether or not one accepted His free gift of forgiveness and salvation. In His great love, He never forces anyone to believe in Him or be obedient. Even as believers, His gives us grace because He knows we won't always be obedient, even when we want to be. Think about how complex we are, and how many excuses we can up with when we want to do what we want. Therefore, we cannot judge anyone's heart in order to manipulate them. Only God can look into and judge the hearts, minds and motives of people.
While we desire to be Christ-like, we have to ask the Lord to help us in putting into practice His wonderful traits. Only God has perfect and pure love, and truly cares for us, more than all caring-humans put together! And because He already knows what is best for us, plus knowing all these other traits of His, we should be able to rest in Him with great confidence and humility. This is not arrogance, which is being confident in our own abilities, but having confidence in the Lord. And this is not pride, which is thinking we know best, but knowing, understanding and embracing the Lord and His will.
Praise the Lord that we can look to Him for nurturing and nourishment, peace and comfort, wisdom and strength. He will help us walk in His way, so that we will not be part of the problem/s but part of the solution/s. This means that we do not have to worry or fret, but that we can rest and wait on the Lord!
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