Pride & Stress

David just assumed his royal office as the second king of Israel- he knew the challenges of leadership transitions, the conditions of his kingdom and all its constituents, and even the threat of invasion from the surrounding kingdoms. Where will he draw his wisdom and strength as the new king? In the midst of such concerns, God gave him a song, a psalm and he penned it in this way (Psalm 131)….

“My heart is not proud oh Lord; my eyes are not haughty.

I do not CONCERN myself with GREAT MATTERS or things to WONDERFUL FOR ME.(v1)

But I have STILLED & QUIETENED my soul,

Like a weaned child with its mother,

Like a weaned child is my soul within me.(v2)

O Israel put your HOPE IN THE LORD

Both now and forevermore.(v3)”

One of the shortest psalm & yet indeed full of truth whenever we are going through some great concerns that usually cause stress in our lives. There are three reflections that I would like to share with you today.

1. Never be too proud in handling any concerns in your life. Don’t be tempted to think that you are the solution to all things. Avoid being ‘messianic’ in handling whatever concerns that you have but rather, like David, choose to acknowledge that our hands are tied on some “GREAT MATTERS” that is too “WONDERFUL” (Hebrew rendition means both inward and outward stress) for us. Pride wanted to CONTROL EVERYTHING while humility ENTRUSTS ALL THINGS to whose hands are not tied & will never be tied & in His time He will make all things beautiful for His glory & for our good. In David’s case, it was more of accusations of his incompetence & frailties. If absorbed in the mind & in the heart, it will surely cause a great deal of stress, yet by God’s grace, he chose not to.
2. CHOOSE TO QUIET your soul. In the original language, this shows like an oath. David made a commitment to regularly quiet his soul in prayer, worship & meditation. Here are some of his psalms…

• • “But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on his law he meditates DAY & NIGHT…”(1:2)
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  • “I lie down and sleep; I awake again because the Lord sustains me…”(3:5)
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  • “In the morning oh Lord you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you & wait in expectation.”(5:3)

3. Make it a practice to always put your HOPE IN THE LORD. Why? Because He is God that is so faithful & true. He even commanded us to “cast all our cares on Him for HE CARES for us”. Mental Health of America tells us that a ten-minute “meditation” will surely relieve stress, chronic pain, and promote calmness and improve memory. In our spirituality, practicing the presence of God in prayer, worship, and bible meditation will surely refresh us of the characters of God – His omniscience, His omnipotence & His omnipresence.

Isaiah 40:31 declared this…

“but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings like eagles;

they shall run and not be weary;

they shall walk and not faint.”

I remembered you in prayer today.

Keep safe, healthy, and happy.