“O LORD, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.” [Psalm 131:1]
THE LAST PART OF THIS VERSE has become a recurring theme for me, something I often call to mind when facing difficulties and challenges: “This is just too great for me. There is no way I can figure it out on my own. And I am not going to let my heart get all worked up over something that is so far beyond my control.”
That’s a good place for a child of God to be, because life brings an endless stream of unexplainable problems, unanswerable questions, unfunded opportunities, unknown speculations. Deep down, we want to be able to manage all of this, to stay in control of it, to know how all the pieces fit together. But there are puzzle pieces we will never have the knowledge to understand or put together without divine help. And we will stay in a continual dither of wasted time, energy, and emotion if we keep trying to sort it all out—situations we simply cannot solve before bedtime tonight—if ever.
So if you’re over your head today—if perhaps the people at work or at church don’t value your gifts and potential, if the people in your home won’t respond as they should—this would be a good time to focus instead on calming and quieting your soul (Ps. 131:2), trusting God’s wise determination of how He wants to take care of this.
Instead of seeking your own ambitions and agenda on your own timetable, trust God to place you where He wants to use you, while you concentrate on serving Him faithfully in the midst of circumstances beyond your understanding. That’s one secret to a peaceful heart.
How much of the noise in your spirit comes from being consumed with matters beyond your comprehension or ability to control? Stop wrestling and start resting in His wisdom and grace.
[The Quiet Place]
