There’s a lake near where I live that is stunning. In the background you can sometimes see Muckish mountain, sometimes the water is rough, other times it is so calm that the hills and even the clouds reflect in it. If your heart was a lake, what would it look like? I imagine that for most of us it would be choppy! We are blown about, roughed up by the trials of this life. Hearts all over the place. What can we do?
The psalmist says “I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (Psalm 131:2)
How did he do this? Our gospel reading (Matthew 8) gives us a clue, Jesus calmed a furious storm by just speaking. What authority! He can calm troubled souls. That’s exactly what he does next with the demon-possessed men, he drives the demons out and the men are left calm and restored. Jesus did this because He is God, but He is also man, and He, like the psalmist had to learn to calm and quieten his soul. He learnt not to be pulled in two directions but to always trust His Heavenly Father knew best. Even in his most overwhelming moment in the garden of Gethsemene He cried out “your will be done”.
He not only urged others to seek after the LORD, but He died for us to make it possible for us to know the LORD.
But how do we calm these troubled souls? We need to let Jesus lead us through the Psalm, allow Him to teach us to have humble hearts, recognising that the only way into His kingdom is by His mercy and grace. We learn not to worry about great matters, knowing it’s all in our Father’s hands. And then, we seek to quieten our souls. Turn off the TV, turn off the mobile, get away from distraction and learn you have all you need in Christ. Seek first His kingdom, learn to be content in Jesus. Remind yourself of the love He showed you by giving himself for you, tell yourself of the most wonderful future He has in store for all who trust Him. Allow your present troubles to melt as you consider what He has in store for you. Ask Him to stamp eternity on your eyes. Calm your soul and put your hope in the LORD. If you’re not yet in the habit, I’d recommend setting your alarm clock a bit earlier each day so that you can get this quiet time with the Lord, pray, read His Word and learn to quieten your soul.
Lord God, you know how my heart frets about all sorts of things. Help me to learn to quieten my soul every day, to learn to trust you. Please help me to humble myself so I don’t allow myself to get concerned with great matters. Please help me to learn to enjoy loving you above all else. Help me to hope in you. Amen
Light and Momentary Troubles 
Leave a comment