A Calm and Quiet Soul

A Calm and Quiet Soul

Psalm 131 “O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.  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.” – a Psalm of David

After the last game of the regular season, all the players whose parents signed them up to be on the Little League All-Star Baseball Team take a knee in the outfield waiting for their name to be called.  It is a very tense scene for the sixty plus players, and even more so for their parents.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  I remember several different thoughts flying through my head.  My team played in the very last game of the season, so I was reviewing how I played.  I was thankful that my grandparents were able to come to the game; I always loved it when they came.  It brought me so much joy and made me feel special.  I remember hoping my friends would be selected for the All-Star team, and I remember thinking how sad it would be for the several players who wouldn’t hear their name called.  Finally, I was of course thinking, “I wonder if they will call my name”.  There was a longing, nervous feeling deep within me to be called.  I think had someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked me in that moment, “In the grand scheme of things, do you think you will be fine if your name isn’t called?” I would have said, “yes, of course.” But it didn’t feel like it.  It was very, very important to me to have my name called.  I had this expectation of myself.  I felt as if others had this expectation of me.  With all the feelings and thoughts, my eyes were in fact raised high, and I was looking, or rather listening very intently, for my name to be called.  I was not calm.  My soul was not quiet.

Earthly kings going back in antiquity understand the pressures described above, but on a grander and exceedingly more meaningful scale.  “Should we go into this battle?”  “Should we levy this tax?” Can you imagine if earthly kings back in the times of such devastating wars wore smart watches that read stress levels?  Ha.  They would get the “you’ve had a stressful day” notification every day at 8:00pm and then be advised to do some meditation and then go to bed early.  Sometimes competing interests are at play.  It could be that what the people want is not what the nation needs.  What the loud minority shouts for is at odds with what the silent majority desires.  What the rich and influential lobby for goes against what the poor class needs.  The list could go on and on.  All this balancing, of course, is very challenging and requires wisdom and, ideally, guidance from God.  It becomes exceedingly more complicated and messier if the king puts his own selfish desires into the equation (James 3:16 “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”).  If the king wasn’t careful, at the very least, disgruntlement could start to impact the effectiveness of the people to carry out the decisions of the king, and at the worst, an outright revolt could occur (remember Rehoboam!).

With all this concern or weight on the mind or shoulders of the king, it should be of no surprise that they constantly had their eyes raised high to see how they were being perceived.  “Am I liked?”  “Do they approve of my decisions?”  “Will they still go into battle for me?”  I think it is safe to say that all of us ask these types of questions in our own realms from time to time.  “Does my boss see my efforts?” “Will my spouse back my decision with the children?”  “Do my children know that I love them though I discipline them?”  “Does my parent understand that this new living situation is the very best for them at this time?”  These questions are natural, and a certain level of self-reflection could be a wise thing.  But I wonder if Saul struggled with an excess of worry or concern with what people thought of him, which could have contributed to his need for David to play the lyre?  Maybe he was struggling with always having his eyes raised high listening for his name to be called.

Going back to the Psalm, David found peace once he lowered his eyes.  Once he stopped listening for his name to be called.  Stopped looking for approval from men and found peace and calmness from God.  Stopped dwelling on things that were out of his control and too far above him to impact (I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me).  When we stop striving for the acceptance of men and thrive off the approval of God, we will have a quiet soul.  Hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.

- Travis Starling

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When you feel like you’re drowning, just remember
you have a lifeguard who walks on water.

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You can learn great things from your mistakes
if you aren’t busy denying them.

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