Dear God,
Thank You for blessing this day. Let all the earth rejoice. Our King is here with us. Our King is mighty to save. Our King sits enthroned forever. Our King knows us by name. Our King carries our burdens. Our King covers our shame. Blessed is the name of God forever. Thank You for being Our God!
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen
Intro
Right now, I’m in a place of mourning what was and welcoming what is. Life in this awkward space is well-kept because I’m in good company. Throughout the Bible, God has searched the earth for people who He can press and push into deeper spaces of the unknown so that all that they know is Him!
Why God Keeps Us in the Dark
I asked God why He doesn’t give us the full story.
I say, “Lord, if I knew the full story then I could be obedient. If only You tell me what’s next, then I could happily obey.”
I act like I have a leg to stand on before God too many times. I realize I idolize my understanding. Does what happened make sense to me? Is what will happen within my realm of reasonability?
Psalm 131
A psalm is like biblical poetry usually written by David, someone God Himself called a man after His own heart, and recently the Lord highlighted this psalm to me.
It’s a really short one, first off. Three verses? But I want to study this with you in reverent honesty.
Verse 1:
My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me.
When I try to understand God’s ways or God’s minds, I am acting out of pride. As if I could even grasp God’s infinite wisdom and understanding. I am acting like I would know God as well as God knows Himself.
There is power in not knowing AND accepting that God knows. I get anxious when I don’t know things. For tests. For life. I want every bit of information so that I can safe-guard myself, yet the Lord has kept this information out of my grasp.
I can huff and puff, but it would ultimately be a burden for me to know these things. Only God can carry the weight of the universe.
David’s strength is that he doesn’t concern himself with things too great for him. Lord, what is too great for me? What am I concerning myself with that is NONE of my business?
My future? My dreams? My next three years at optometry school?
It’s not that I’m supposed to just keep quiet or keep ignorant, but God has given us instructions on what to do when life is too big and we are too small.
PRAYER! PETITION! With Thanksgiving. Present. Your. Requests. To God!
Then, God will give you peace from Him that He’s got this. He knows what’s happening. He’s already figured it out. You don’t need to know.
Let’s say that together: I don’t need to know.
I don’t need to know if I’ll find that job. I don’t need to know if the right guy will be here one day. I don’t need to know if I’ll have a residency or not. I don’t need to concern myself with things too great for me.
When we say that, we’re offering God the fragrance of humility. These things are too great for me, I leave them to You, Lord. You know better. You know when and how and what to do.
To not concern yourself is like being a child who lives every day not knowing how mom or dad buys food, pays for rent or mortgage, and lives in dependence. A child shouldn’t concern themselves with property taxes or car insurance. A child should be a child. You are a child of God.
This doesn’t mean literally being ignorant about food, budgeting, and cost of living. It’s about your mindset towards these things. Not hoarding or holding onto control. Not living reckless or scrimping on every dime. It’s more like allowing ourselves to rest in God’s provision. Not letting the things of this life control us or take captive our thought life.
Verse 2:
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
I need to stop fussing. “God what will happen? God what if this? God what if that?”
A fussy baby is not calm or quiet. A fussy baby is what I am. I’m noisy and unable to just let God take control of what happened. I’m noisy, but I want to be calmed and quieted. I want to be content like a weaned child, no longer grasping at their mom for breastmilk, but just being held and safe in her arms.
Safe in the arms of Jesus is where I always want to be. I don’t want to be grasping at God to give me what I want. I just want to lay there and be still because God’s gonna make it okay. God’s gonna handle this problem and that future issue. God’s gonna be with me when these things happen.
Verse 3:
Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.
We do not concern ourselves with things too great for us and calm and quiet ourselves by putting our hope in the Lord. This means that our expectations are placed onto Him. This means we place our joy in His hands. This means we don’t expect our family, our grades, our job, our spouse, our children, or our comfort to give us the fullness of life. We don’t need it or them to be anything to us.
We can enjoy them as they are without the need for control. We can live our life without desperation or neediness. No one needs to save us. No one needs to complete us. No one needs to fill the gaps. We are complete in Christ. We are covered by His blood. His wounds heal our wounds.
The greatness of God is that God is all we need so that everything else can be a bonus. We are freed to love people. We are freed to also let go of people. We are free not to understand why things happened.
Why did they reject us?
Why did they leave?
Why did this not work out?
We leave it in God’s hands, and we don’t worry because God will bind us up again. God will make us whole.
Understanding things doesn’t heal you.
Understanding why it ended won’t make you the person you need to be: the person only Jesus’ love can transform you into!
Thank You, God, because You’ve given me the peace and breakthrough to say that I do not concern myself with great things. I will quiet and calm myself. I will place my hope in the Lord.
Closing Prayer
Dear God,
I believe You can do all things. You can move mountains. You can break chains. You will do these things too, but they will also be in Your own timing and Your own way. You will not let us be disgraced. You will lift us up in Your timing for Your glory. Let us humble ourselves. Let us rest in the embrace of a good, good Father. Lord, we love You so much. We believe in You. You are worthy of our faith and trust. You are exactly who You say You are.
Thank You,
In Jesus’ name I pray,
Amen
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