January 11, 2023

But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me. 

Psalm 131:2

Calm and quiet are not always words that I can use to describe my inner life. My outward appearance often gives the impression of calm but, and perhaps you can relate to this, personal doubts, relational struggles, tasks, anxieties and insecurities seem to wage war just millimeters beneath my “peaceful” exterior. The kind of buddhism popularized in the west says that the answer is to not desire things, which at a glance, seems like it might help. But, some desires are good and some anxieties hang upon important things. Weaned children are not quiet because they are not hungry - but because they trust the one upon whose lap they sit. 

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says “He has made everything beautiful in its time…”   So, while desires are not wrong in and of themselves, and while the object of many fears and anxieties are important we see that it is the awareness of our presence before the LORD that results in this calm and quiet soul. The path to this hopeful does not depend on denying our desires or chastising our fears - but handing both over to our God and Father who reckons us more important than the sparrows he feeds and the lillies he clothes with splendor.