OLD TESTAMENT: Ezekiel 36-37
POETRY: Psalm 131
NEW TESTAMENT: John 5:1-15
Psalm 131 is short, but jam-packed with great stuff. As a fan of minimalism, I like the power and value the words in this psalm hold, all while taking up such very little space! In a book that in all reality…..if we are going to overflow closets and shelves with…..it’s the one! How fortunate we are in fact to have paper, printing presses, free Bible apps, a free country in which to purchase and publish Bibles all we want, and easy and instant access to the word of God in so many formats. However you access Psalm 131, it is worth your time today.
When I first read this psalm, I got a little confused. Seeing the words “calm and quiet” near “child” and “mother”….basically….in my mental image at first, this was a comforted, calmed, quiet baby being nursed by its mother. Whoops. I mean….in my defense…..weaned, nursing…..they go together, right? And what have you seen that calms and quiets a child more than chugging it down? But, that word “weaned”….I even looked it up in Hebrew to make sure I was getting this image right this time…..yup, same as in English. It refers to a child who was no longer relying exclusively on milk from his or her mother. The total opposite to the picture in my mind upon my initial read.
We all know that babies and young children need assistance in being calmed and quieted. They simply do not have the cognitive, sensory processing, or emotional capabilities to do that independently, and it is why caregivers of young children are often bouncing, rocking, walking, shushing, white noising, swaddling, and most definitely….making sure that little person is sucking/drinking. Calm and quiet babies rely on external supports to get there, and that is the way God created them. However, children who are weaned are able to self soothe much more easily. In the Bible, children who were weaned were a big deal. Abraham held a big feast. Hannah took Samuel to the temple. It was an important step and one to be celebrated. In fact, I read that Jewish traditions today still often celebrate the weaning of a child including reading relevant scriptural verses. What a nice idea!
At work, I get the opportunity to help little, big, and grown up kids sometimes who need some more supports and coping or sensory strategies to help them get to the regulated or “content” state mentioned in this psalm. Of course, it is easier to help others sometimes than it is ourselves in this area, and when I did today’s reading, I was struck by the fact that we all need help with this. Many times a day sometimes in fact! The recipe to being truly calmed and quieted from the most important internal support is right in Psalm 131. I don’t see requirements to breathe lavender oil under a weighted blanket while listening to rushing waves. But, I do see some things that make me feel better just reading…..imagine how content and calmed life could be with David’s ingredients in Psalm 131:
-Verse 1: a yielded spirit to God’s will recognizing that His ways are higher than ours and we might not understand the “great matters” God does.
– Verse 2: a person who has moved from milk to meat. Someone with enough spiritual maturity to understand that contentment can be found in the LORD even when circumstances aren’t desirable.
-Verse 3: a person with hope in the LORD of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Not a hope in a political party, nation, human relationship, wealth, or stockpiled food. A hope in the LORD whose promises for a future kingdom are beautifully depicted in our Ezekiel reading today as well.
“They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. 25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your ancestors lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27 My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I the Lord make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.” (Ezekiel 37: 24-28)
-Jennifer Hall
Questions:
- Consider where you are in your weaning process today.
- Do you know anyone not yet “weaned”who might benefit from your support and assistance? How could you use the hope of Ezekiel 37 and Psalm 131 to reach someone struggling with weaning?
- What verses (from today’s reading or anywhere) can provide encouragement and assistance to you when your thoughts are not calmed and quieted within you?
Seek Grow Love 