Rest and hope in the Lord

Psalm 131 is a very short psalm--only three verses. I personally had some difficulty with it but as the study was done I learned several things. The psalmist begins stating that Lord that his heart is not proud (haughty, prideful) and he doesn't look down on others (humble) and can't do miracles or things that are beyond his abilities. Then goes on to state BUT he is calm, quiet, like a "weaned" baby with its mother, he is childlike. He then calls for Israel to put their hope in the Lord both now and forever. We know that God despises the proud and asks that we humble ourselves to others. He calls us to know when it is time to "speak" and when not to do so. We are reminded in the study that this does not mean we are to be doormats, walked upon,because there are times we are called to stand and speak out. It is in listening to God and His direction that we will know when to take any action or not and how to handle the situation. We also know that this attitude could affect our ability to minister to others in the way God would have us to do. Our egos can get us into much trouble, eh? Scripture tells us that there are some things that only God knows. Beth told us of tragedies that in our humaness we can not understand, don't seem fair/right but it is only in God's knowledge that it is understood. We are not expected to understand all things but know that God own description of Himself in Exodus 34: 6-7 helps to clarify things "Yahweh--Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin." We know that God can do no wrong and that He is sovereign. We might not understand but we do know His heart. Anselm, an eleventh-century English monk stated, "I do not seek, O Lord, to penetrate they depths. I by no means think my intellect equal to them: but I long to understand in some degree thy truth, which my heart believes and loves. For I do not seek to undertstand that I may believe, but I belive, that I may understand." A wonderful way to look at these things. The psalmist then tells us he is like a child -- a weaned child. We learned in our study that in that culture a child was weaned at the age of three so this would be a toddler who is no longer looking to his mother for his nourishment but is coming to her for more than that. I began to think of this as God taking me up into His arms and carrying me, providing comfort, direction, rendering me totally dependent upon Him even as to where He was taking me, unconditional love and compassion, and saving me from harm. What a wonderful and comforting picture!!! I know I need to think in this way more often--all my needs are met by Him!!! Thank you Lord for being my Father!!! As the psalmist called on Israelto see, He is my hope, now and forever!