Surely I Have Calmed And Quieted My Soul
By Pastor Mitch
November 23, 2018
Having calmness of soul is not an easy thing to have. Sometimes, it would take years to cultivate this. When King David was young, he had a haughty spirit. He was always running ahead of himself. There was not much stillness within his heart. Eliab his eldest brother spoke of how he was proud and insolence of heart (1 Sam. 17:28). He always wanted to be where the action was. This sin of pride continued to haunt him when he numbered the people (2 Sam. 24:1). He was caught up with his own spirit and pride. He had to be corrected and chastened by the Lord. When David wrote Psalm 131, his spirit was no longer full of pride. He now had calmness of spirit.
1. Learning to have a humble approach to life
Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me.” Psalm 131:1
King David had learnt to set aside his haughty spirit. There was a time when he wanted to build God a house (2 Sam. 7). And the Lord God had to correct him and put him in place. David was constantly running ahead of himself. Through much correction, he had learned to be humble. He was no longer concerned with how great he was as a king nor was he concern about great matters. He learnt to humbly accept that there were things that were too profound for him. He had learnt to have a humble approach to life and ministry.
2. Learning to have quiet trust in the Lord
Surely, I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Psalm 131:2
The Psalmist learnt to have a quiet trust in the Lord. He is like a child that is weaned from his mother’s milk. When a child is weaned from breastfeeding, it can be an awkward stage. A child can be very agitated and cries a lot during the process. However, the child can learn to be calm and quiet after he had been weaned. In the same way, learning to have a quiet trust in the Lord may take years. Samuel was such an example. When he was weaned, Hannah brought him to the house of the Lord and there he stayed with Eli (1 Sam 1). There was a special sense of stillness in his heart. We too can learn to have a quiet trust in the Lord and His ways. Let’s learn to trust and hope fully in the Lord for all things in life and ministry till there is this special sense of stillness.
