#DailyDevotion Let Us Find Our Worth In Christ & Our Rest In His Work
Psalm 131 O LORD, I don’t feel proud or look haughty or meddle in things too great and wonderful for me. 2No, I’ve calmed down and silenced my ambitions like a weaned child rests in its mother’s arms; my spirit in me rests like a weaned child. 3Israel, put your hope in the LORD, now and forever!
This psalm is attributed to David. It does express the overall countenance of David. In himself, David did not feel proud, look haughty or meddle in things too great and wonderful for him. If at any time he boasted, it was not of himself but of the things the LORD had done in and through him. Evil people think of this as boasting but it is self-abasing to attribute any good thing we have or done to the LORD. As one radio personality used to say of himself, “Talent on loan from God.” It seems to me over the last couple of generations we’ve had less and less humility and more and more self-esteem. Self-esteem finds its worth in oneself. Humility finds it worth in the LORD Jesus Christ. We know we are valuable because the LORD demonstrated our worth to Him by His death and resurrection. If we are happy about our accomplishments it should be recognized that the ability and the outcome come from the LORD. We need not exert our rights when we are trusting in the LORD. That is what David did. Although anointed by Saul, he waited for the LORD to remove Saul. When his son Absalom rebelled against him, he patiently waited for the LORD to put him back on the throne. Our LORD Jesus Christ is our ultimate example of humility. Although He was God, He humbled Himself to become one of us. He, during His ministry, lived off the offerings of others. He was tried and did not open His mouth but entrusted Himself to the Father. But for the joy set before Him, He was crucified, dead and buried.
To not meddle in things great and wonderful is to not delve into the hidden things of God. There is more than enough to contemplate on the revealed will of God in the Scriptures. There is more than enough to keep us occupied in obeying the Ten Commandments, meditating on our baptism and the Creed, and our participation in the LORD’s Supper.
David writes, “No, I’ve calmed down and silenced my ambitions like a weaned child rests in its mother’s arms; my spirit in me rests like a weaned child.” O that we would be able to be calmed down and silence our ambitions. O that our spirits rest in the mercy, kindness, steadfast love, grace and forgiveness of the LORD. Many of our conflicts would not even occur because many of our conflicts come from me, myself and I. We have the promises of God so our spirits may rest in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. How do we get there? We turn all our problems, all our goals and ambitions, all of our “rights” to our LORD and trust He will do for us what is best for us as we go about fulfilling our vocations, the things God has called us to do. God our Father knows what we need before we ask. We can simply pray the LORD’s prayer and know everything we need, want and desire is addressed in those words. But we often pray in more detail to quiet our hearts by knowing we have said it out loud and certainly the LORD has heard our prayer.
So David invites us to put our hope in the LORD Jesus Christ, now and forever. This is not wishful thinking. Our hope consists in what the LORD has done in the past. It is wrapped up in His revealed nature to us in His name. It is steadied by all His promises, like, “I will never leave you or forsake you,” (Heb. 13) or, “Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages.” (Matt. 28) It is firmly grounded in the words, “Ask for anything in my name and I will do it for you.” (John 14 & 16)
Heavenly Father, grant us humble hearts to trust You will take care of us and provide for us what we need, want and desire, from good and upright hearts and let our spirits rest in You all the days of our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.