Our souls can be calm because God’s care is great

Why do babies scream? Not just babies but young toddlers as well. Why do they scream and cry? This question is incredibly easy to answer and all of us know exactly why they scream, until there’s an actual screaming baby in front of us. Right now, when there’s not an actively screaming baby, we say oh they need to be fed, they need to be changed, they need sleep, or they want to be held. It’s usually one of those. You just have to figure out which one.

But then someone hands you a screaming baby and all of that goes out the window. I think Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. Yeah, everyone knows what a baby needs until they’re holding a screaming one. Because that baby will scream for no discernible reason. You will do all the things and it will not satisfy. For parents with little ones, it can be exhausting trying to discern what’s going on.

Our psalm this morning unfortunately isn’t going to explain to us why babies scream. But it will tell us why they eventually stop. And the comparison will be made to us. We have stressed and unsettled hearts. We have restless souls that can’t seem to be satisfied or that don’t even know what we want. We’re weary with life and we’re unsure why we’re even tiring ourselves out. This psalm won’t tell us why we’re living anxiously, but it does tell us why we can stop.

Main Point – Our souls can be calm because God’s care is great

Prayer

Point #1 – God’s care frees us from pursuing omniscience (vs. 1)

READ VS 1

You have to wonder as you read that, what exactly are these things that are too great and too marvelous for him? It doesn’t say. Because instead of telling us what the things are that he’s not supposed to bother himself with, this verse tells us the attitude that he’s not supposed to have. He doesn’t want to have a heart lifted up or eyes that are raised too high. The words for high and lifted up in these verses both mean haughty or proud or arrogant. So he’s saying Lord, I haven’t allowed my heart to become arrogant and proud.

He also mentions not occupying himself with things too great and too marvelous. What does that mean? The rest of the Bible gives us a sense that things which are too marvelous are things that only God can do.

“Give thanks to the Lord of lords… who alone does great wonders” - Psalm 136:4-5

Great wonders is the same as marvelous things. God alone is the one who can do marvelous things. To occupy ourselves or to dwell on marvelous things would be to concern ourselves with things that only God is capable of doing. You can see how it would take quite an arrogant attitude to try to take God’s business into our own hands.

Or another place we see these great wonders is in the book of Job where we read -

“God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend.” - Job 37:5

Yet, I feel that in the place and time we currently live, busying ourselves with things that only God can manage has become commonplace. We want to know more than is possible for us to know.

Do you remember the day when it was common and acceptable to simply not know something? Believe it or not, there was a time when someone might ask you - is it supposed to rain this weekend? - and you could simply answer, “I don’t know” and you both went on your way. You walked away not knowing and it was just fine. But that is no longer the case. Now if someone asks me that question, I pull out my phone and I check. We won’t be walking away from this conversation not knowing the weather. And as the weekend draws nearer, I can keep checking to get up-to-the-minute updates on if the forecast is still the same.

This isn’t merely true with weather. We feel like we deserve access to all kinds of information. We never have to go without knowing something ever again. I can ask my phone the most absurd, ridiculous questions and get an instant answer. We have access to all the knowledge in the universe. It borders on omniscience, on being all-knowing. If you’re not aware, omniscience is a trait that God has and that no one else has. When the psalmist talks about things that are too great and too marvelous for him, certainly omniscience is at the top of that list.

Yet too often, we pursue having omniscience. We want to be able to know everything all the time. We feel a pain in our side so we begin researching every possible source of side pain. We hear a noise coming from the car’s engine so we consider all of the possible causes and then how much those problems will cost to fix and we start counting all of our available funds and credit limits to see if we can pay for it. Our kid is going to college so we attempt to figure out which school will most likely guarantee their success. Even as I say some of these things, they sound so normal that they don’t even feel problematic.

We desire omniscience and we pursue omniscience so regularly that it feels normal. But what has been the result of our pursuits? Has gaining knowledge given us the relief that it promises? No. It hasn’t. Much the opposite. We’re endlessly pursuing knowing more because we think that if we know enough then we’ll be able to sort things out and have a plan. We think if we know enough then we’ll be in control. And if we’re in control then we will be at peace. Do you hear the arrogance of this strategy?

If I know everything and can control everything then I will find peace. But this is a lie. It’s a lie we fall for so regularly. Because even though we have greater access to knowledge than ever before, we are experiencing less peace than ever before. Statistically, we’re the most anxious generation of all time. 1 in 5 Americans has a diagnosed anxiety disorder. Do you think these people would be helped if they simply were able to get their hands on more knowledge? Of course not. That’s not a solution.

Yet almost every time when we’re stressed we start pursuing more knowledge. We look for reassurance from others - “Do you think I’m OK? Do you think I’m doing the right thing?” We find ourselves repeatedly checking things - checking the news, checking for messages, checking the bank account, checking our health symptoms. We research for more knowledge, late night deep-dives on the internet trying to find out an explanation for all the things that are happening to us or could happen to us. We’re endlessly occupied with things too great and too marvelous for us because we think if we know something then we’ll be in control of it and we’ll have peace.

But our psalm reminds us that God is the only one with the capacity to know everything. God is the only one with the capacity to control everything. And thus, God is the only one with the capability of providing us peace. It’s ok for us to not know something, because there is a God who does know. It’s ok for us to not be in control because there is a God who is in control.

Our psalm is going to go on to illustrate this through the trust of a child with their mother and it’s such a beautiful illustration. There are things that parents need to worry about that kids have no capacity to even understand. They aren’t concerned with home owner’s insurance and retirement funds. They don’t know about grandma’s failing health and funeral planning and powers of attorney. They can’t understand meal planning and coordinating vacation schedules with the rest of the family. These are things that the parents are responsible for.

But there always comes that occasion where the child tries to butt into the parent’s business. And with great fear in their voice they say, “But if we’re traveling on a road trip, how are we going to be able to eat!?” Child, do you think I haven’t thought about that? Do you think we haven’t prepared for a meal and taken care of it? Why are you trying to take things into your own hands?

Jesus teaches this same lesson in the Sermon on the Mount when he says,

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:31-34

It’s ok to not know. In these verses Jesus doesn’t satisfy their craving for knowledge, their craving for omniscience. He simply says, your Father knows you need them. That’s it. We aren’t called to know everything. We’re called to be faithful with what we have right now. And in a sense, we’re called to be comfortable with not knowing everything.

So the next time you’re tempted to reach down for your phone and start searching for knowledge on something, stop and consider, maybe I’d be better off not knowing. Maybe the peace I’m looking for won’t come from more knowledge, but from resting in God’s care.

In a similar vein to wanting to know everything right now. We also often fall into the trap of wanting to have everything right now.

Point #2 – God’s care frees us from selfish entitlement (vs. 2)

READ VS 2

Here the psalm puts an image in our mind. The image of a young child, maybe 3, 4, or 5 years old sitting on his mother’s lap. And he points out very specifically that this is a weaned child. This child is no longer nursing from his mother. So at the same time, then, we imagine a second image - a child that is still nursing sitting on his mother’s lap. These two children are very different. The first is calmed and quieted as we read. And the second child is not.

The second child, the one who is not yet weaned is a very restless child. Have you ever seen the child that’s hungry and desires milk? He’s not calm I assure you. He’s swinging his little arms and kicking his little feet. He’s clawing at mom’s shirt. He’s screaming with an impressive amount of noise compared to his tiny size. And why all of this fuss? Because he wants to be fed and he wants to be fed right now. He’s too young to realize it, but he believes that his mother exists solely for his good. He is the center of the universe. And when he has a need, he demands that she fulfill it immediately. We call this selfish entitlement. I deserve this and you owe it to me.

And what’s the only solution to this frantic demanding attitude? Weaning. At the right time, the child must be weaned from nursing. Now the word weaned here is in the passive tense, which means it’s not something you choose to do, but rather it’s something that is done to you. The child doesn’t decide this will happen, rather his mother decides for him and makes it happen. The next time he’s screaming demanding for milk, the mother says, “No. You’re old enough and God has blessed you with some tiny little teeth. Here eat these cheerios instead.”

Of course, if you’ve ever attempted this, you know that the child doesn’t agree with your decision. He doesn’t trust in your great parenting wisdom and he continues to scream for milk. He feels like he’s being abused. He’s being forgotten. It must be that his mother doesn’t love him anymore. But over the course of time, eventually the child learns that his hunger can be satisfied in other ways. His mother still cares for him. And instead of his frantic and demanding attitude it can be replaced with a calmer quieter one. The child has been weaned.

The author of our psalm states that his soul is like that second child. It’s calm and it’s quiet. And who is the author of this psalm? You’ll notice in the superscription that it states the author of this psalm is David. It says “Of David” right there at the top. And that fact adds some interesting meaning to this psalm. Why would David of all people need to calm and quiet his soul?

If you’re familiar with the story of David, then you know that he was the youngest of 8 boys in his family and he was a lowly shepherd. But God chose him to become the king of Israel and he becomes the greatest king they ever have. But what we can’t forget about David’s story is that there’s about a 15 year gap between him being anointed as the king by Samuel and him becoming the king. He was promised to rule the kingdom, but he didn't receive it for years. And most of those years he spent on the run from the current king, Saul.

Could you imagine how disheartening that might be? God says, I promise I’m going to exalt you and use you in great and mighty ways. Then shortly after that, King Saul tries to kill him and he’s hiding out in a cave somewhere with nothing but the shirt on his back. “Hey. These promises aren’t adding up. God told me one thing and then he did the exact opposite thing.”

How does the unweaned child act in this situation? That’s easy. The unweaned child throws a fit. “God, you were supposed to give me the kingdom! You promised I would be important. And now I don’t know if I’ll live to see tomorrow.” If anyone had a reason to feel entitled, it was David at this point. And yet, this isn’t how he responds. David, like the calm and quieted child, is patient. He trusts the Lord and waits quietly for him to provide what David needs.

There were multiple times when David could have reached out and grabbed what was owed him. Twice David was able to sneak up on Saul and was within striking distance. He could have easily killed Saul and taken the throne that belonged to him. Yet he doesn’t. He waits for God to provide for him. He doesn’t try to claw and grab what he thinks he’s owed. He trusts that God will be the one who provides at the right time.

Many of the psalms contain superscriptions that describe the circumstances in which they were written. One such psalm is Psalm 57 where in the superscription it says, “Of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.” In this psalm we get a window into David’s heart while he is running for his life. He says this,

“I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills his purpose for me.” - Psalm 57:2

And a few verses later he states,

“My heart is steadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast!” - Psalm 57:7

God will be the one who fulfills his purposes for him. He sings to remind himself of this truth. God is the one who will set things straight. And he sings again to remind his heart to remain steadfast. “Don’t waver, heart! Hang in there. Be calm and quiet, soul. Trust that God will give what you need.”

This is a pattern that we see throughout the Scriptures. God promises that someone will be exalted and then they go through a period of humiliation before receiving it. Joseph was given visions that he would rule over many, but then he ended up sold as a slave and wrongly imprisoned for years before ruling in Egypt. Moses was called by God to deliver Israel, but then he flees for his life to the desert and lives for 40 years as a lowly shepherd before God brings him back to save his people.

But most notably of course is Jesus Christ himself. Centuries before he was born, it was told that he would rule as king forever. He would be the exalted Savior. But before he ever received the crown he was promised, before he received what was “owed to him”, he went through a period of humiliation. He was humbled by being born as a baby. He was humbled by being raised in a poor home. He was humbled by being hated by those around him. He’s betrayed by his own friends. Then he’s nailed to a cross. And no doubt what’s going through his head, like David, is , “Hey. These promises aren’t adding up. God told me one thing and then he did the exact opposite thing.” But on the cross he says, “Father into your hands I commit my Spirit.” It’s an expression of trust from someone who is actively calming and quieting his soul.

So I ask, how is it that you are sitting in the Lord’s lap today? What kind of child are you? Are you calling out to God with selfish entitlement? Clawing at him to give you all the things you’re owed? “God, why don’t I have a spouse and family like I thought I’d have by now? God, why is addiction plaguing my home? God, when will you finally allow me to rest in my retirement? God, when will you give me the opportunities that I need or the blessings that I want? God, you’ve told me one thing, but it seems you’re doing the exact opposite” Are we squirming and rolling and crying out in frustration with God?

It’s likely that God is sending you through that humbling period, the period of humiliation. It’s the process of weaning. He’s withholding what you think you need so that you can learn to rest in his arms. He still provides. He still keeps his promises. He gives what you need when the time is right. This is how he calms and quiets your soul.

When we’re finally weaned in this way, it will transform our future forever.

Point #3 – God’s care frees us to eternally hope (vs. 3)

READ VS 3

David ends his psalm with a challenge to the whole nation. He has presented his own life as an example. You’ve seen me and how God had to humble me. He had to remove my pride and my desire for omniscience. God had to train me to have a calm and quiet soul. And now you, nation of Israel, you must do the same. You also must place your hope in the Lord.

What’s most notable to me here is the fact that it says we do this from this time forth and forevermore. This isn’t something that we do temporarily. Just trust God for a few moments and then after that you can resume the way you were before - trusting in yourself and being on the throne of your own life.

Have you ever seen that TV show Undercover Boss? The premise of the show is that the CEO of some large company disguises him or herself as an average joe and gets hired in the lowest position. In one episode the CEO of Burger King got a job working at the Drive Thru. Or in another episode the owner of Southwest Airlines got hired as a baggage handler. And what happens in these shows is that the big important guy takes a lowly position for a period of time and he experiences all the difficulties of the everyman. He learns some important lessons. And at the end of the episode, he reveals his true identity to the employees, saying, “I was acting like a lowly nobody for a while, but I’m actually in charge of this whole operation.” And he rewards those low-level employees who worked hard. At the same time he fixes the issues where things weren’t going well.

But at the end of every episode, the CEO returns to being the CEO. He takes off his wig and his fake beard. He takes off his filthy clothes, he puts his suit back on and takes the elevator back up to his high rise office. His humbling period was only temporary. He knew it the whole time. Undoubtedly, knowing that he would return to his office soon was what allowed him to endure his difficulties.

I think often we can have this sort of “I’ll humble myself for a few moments” mentality. We submit to God’s will and do what he asks for a bit, but then after a period of time we’d like to take the reins back and be in charge again. We see this when we find ourselves saying things like, “I don’t need to serve, I already did my time.” As if serving God for a few years was enough and now I can quit. Or we say things like, “I’ll give you this much Lord, but no further.” Yes, God you can have a bit of my life, but the rest of it still belongs in my hands. Or perhaps we call out to God and say, “I’ve waited for you for so many years, how many more years do I have to wait?” David says, “Hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore.”

Could you imagine how different the show Undercover Boss would be if the CEO took the job at the Drive Thru window and then just stayed there? If he gave up his office in the corporate headquarters, he gave up all his fancy suits.  He gave up his enormous salary and instead said, “I’ll just work at this humble job forever.” Imagine how his attitude would be so much different when he arrived at work. He wouldn’t be thinking, “I don’t deserve this. I’m better than this.” He wouldn’t be thinking, “I’m more important than all of these people around me. They just don’t know it yet.” Rather, he’d be thinking - this is who I am now, I’d better get used to it.

 When it comes to humbling yourself before God and giving up the things that you feel like you’re entitled to, are you prepared to do it for the long haul? Do you see this lowly position as a servant something that you’re better than or do you see it as your eternal role?

When the Scriptures tell you to hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore, it’s telling you to adopt an entirely new identity. That old life where you determined how you lived and you pursued whatever goals you thought best is gone. And you will never return to it. It’s a painful realization to recognize that I will never again get to be on the throne. I will never again be the captain of my own soul and responsible for my own fate. When God calls me to obey him and to sacrifice something I love for his sake or when he asks me to put in difficult work for little or no reward, I do not have the option to say, “No, I’d rather not.”

But do you see the blessing here? You are no longer responsible for your own fate. You don’t have the weight of that hanging heavy on your shoulders anymore. When you were the CEO you called the shots, but if you made the wrong choices the company would fail. There was always that pressure that if you were to be satisfied and you were to be happy, then you had to make all the right choices. And if you mess up this whole thing could tank. Some people in this room feel like they’re doing well. The business of their life is turning a profit. But there’s always a lingering fear that something could sneak in unexpectedly and collapse the whole thing. Or there are those here who feel like they’ve already ruined the business of their life. They’ve gone bankrupt and they don’t see how they could ever revive it.

But for the one who places their faith in Christ, you hand the reins to Christ. You give him the CEO’s office. At salvation, we confess that the one who died and conquered the grave is better equipped to tell us how to live, then the restless child who screams for immediate satisfactions. O Church, hope in the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore.

Lay down your pride. Stop fighting to be on the top. Let go of the reins. Rest in the arms of the God who cares for you. Calm and quiet your soul and don’t attempt to occupy yourself with things too great and too marvelous for you.

Prayer