Trust and Obey

Quiet Like a Child

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment 
But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Psalm 131 2-3 ESV

Psalm 131 is one of the fifteen Psalms titled, “Songs of Ascent” It is supposed that these were sung by pilgrims, making their way from all over Israel towards Jerusalem for the great festivals prescribed by God in the law of Moses. Since this Psalm appears near the end of that group, maybe at this point the temple is already in sight, or at least the outer walls of the city of Jerusalem. This unknown author was not someone of high rank. We don’t know his exact circumstances, but maybe it was as he paused to rest on his journey, that he was inspired to write. “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother. ” Then taking a deep breath, he thrills in wonder at the magnificent sight of the Holy City, lying just ahead. Then a simple truth, comes like a gentle rain on a parched field. I imagine him taking a deep breath, thrilling in wonder at the magnificent sight of the Hoy City, lying just ahead. Though he wrote these words thousands of years ago, He is a lot like us. He, just a simple worshiper of Jehovah: has been not only commanded to appear, but God has invited him to come. This man, who is not a king entering the city gates in triumph, or a priest bringing a lamb for God’s altar, is accepted and even welcomed. Then he says, that, just as a weaned child rests upon His mother’s lap waiting for the new adult food that she will feed him, he realizes that God has something new for him as well. This morning, as he has quieted his hungry soul, he remembers David’s Psalm that tells him that God has prepared a banquet table in the wilderness and is waiting just for him. That truth awakening in Him such a joy, the writer knows that he must tell everyone! “O Israel, hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore!”

The Jigsaw Puzzle of Faith

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[a] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

Faith can be like a jigsaw puzzle. If you are like me, there are some days when it feels like we are trying to put together a puzzle, which not only has no picture on the box, it also seems to be missing several pieces. We get depressed or angry, and wonder why everyone around us appears to be doing fine with their puzzles, while we are only able to piece together a few of the edge pieces. But our stressed-out attitude has the situation entirely backwards. God isn’t asking us to put together a 5,000-piece puzzle, because that isn’t our job. The reality is that we are God’s puzzle, and He sees the complete picture and is putting everything together perfectly according to His plan. We don’t need to see the picture on the box: He does! We aren’t missing any pieces, we are the missing piece, and our only job is to take the next step He is calling us to take. His call challenges us to either believe and trust Him, or to rely on and trust in what everybody else says. No one can take that step for us. We have to do it with our own faith. Obedience can be scary, dangerous and difficult, but it will be worth it all! Jesus is everything and the only thing we will ever need in every situation, in every place, and every single day! Faith asks the ultimate question: “Will I trust Him today with what He asks me to do!”