Young People's Group

CULTIVATING HOPE IN THE LORD

by Pastor Mitch
September 26, 2010

Dealing With The Problem Of Pride

Hope is something that we need to cultivate constantly. If we are not careful, problems could arise and affect our hope in God. One of the things that can rob us of hope is the problem of pride. This was something that the Psalmist vigorously sought to deal with.

“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

If we want to deal with our pride problem, it has to start with the heart. The Psalmist sought to ensure that his heart was not haughty. He did not set his eyes on things that were high and lofty. When we have pride, it stops us from seeing the need to depend on the Lord and to hope in Him. The Psalmist sought to be humble and did not portray himself as if he knew everything. He did not focus on things that were too profound for him. He sought to have a humble heart. Our challenge is to have such a heart as the Psalmist did.

Learning To Have Calmness Of Soul

“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 also had to cultivate his soul. He sought to ensure that his soul was calm and still. There was a need for him to cultivate a sense of quietness deep within himself. Sometimes, life can be challenging and everything seems to so hectic that we do not have time to be still. We must take the time to learn to have a calm and quiet soul like a child weaned from his mother’s milk. A child has to learn to be weaned from drinking his mother’s milk. When he is weaned, the child is no longer fretful or disturbed when there is no mother’s milk available. He learns to be still and calm. Young people, there are times when we can be very childish in our approach towards the trials of life. Our challenge is to learn to grow and to seek for this humility of spirit and calmness of soul before the Lord.

Having A Great Sense Of Hope

“O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever.” 
Psalm 131:3

The people of Israel were in captivity when the Psalmist wrote this. They had learnt lessons of humility as they went through captivity. They were now humbled by what they had gone through. Their challenge now was to wait on the Lord and to hope in Him. The Psalmist challenged all of Israel to have this hope. This hope can be both extensive and enduring. Young people, let’s learn to have this hope too. Many of you are presently preparing for exams or going to take exams soon. Let’s learn to have a great sense of hope even as we face whatever challenges ahead. Let’s learn to have a definite hope in the Lord and in His word.

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