Psalm 131: Humble Trust in God
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
This is one of the shortest psalms in the Bible – only 3 verses – and yet its message is one of the most important. We must trust God. And if we truly do, we will have less anxiety, less fear, more hope, and more serenity. This is so simple, and yet so difficult.
Jesus demonstrates his own filial boldness when he tells us, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and you will. (Mark 11:24) He abides by the Father just as the Father abides by him and he reminds us to knock, seek and ask. (Matthew 7:7-14) Jesus believes that the promises he has been given will be fulfilled . . . and they are . . . but not without suffering.
We need not look to Jesus for our only inspiration to trust. We also have the marvelous examples of the Roman centurion and the Canaanite woman. (Matthew 8:10 and 15:28) Jesus himself remarks on the depth of their faith, and we can see their persistence. The Catechism in paragraph 2613 reminds us to pray always without ceasing and with the patience of faith (my italics). And this many of us do, but perhaps we leave out one important step. A true prayer of faith is not only the words and the intent, but the true disposition of one’s heart to do the will of the Father. (My italics again) Jesus calls his disciples to bring into their prayer this concern for cooperating with the divine plan. (CCC 2611)
Why do we not trust God enough to let go of our little and big worries? Why do we doubt that God will do anything but what is good for us? God is goodness itself and truth itself, and so God is incapable of doing anything but the best for us. Perhaps we mull over conversations we have had with God which have not brought us precisely what we thought we deserved. Maybe be believe that we have a better plan in mind.
As I watch my life and that of others, as I observe the sun and the stars and the moon and the seas, as I watch a flock of birds lift in unison, or trees bend before the force of a hurricane, I am stunned by how little I trust. The simplest and greatest of God’s creation trust that all will be well better than I. Perhaps I do not humble myself enough. Perhaps I think I understand more than the birds or the planets or the flowers because I am a creature who has the power of reason and problem solving. If this is so, I must turn to this simplest of psalms which holds so much truth. And I must humble myself to believe that God has a far better plan for my life and the lives of those around me than I could ever devise.
Lord, I am not proud; nor are my eyes haughty. I do not busy myself with things that are too sublime for me. Rather, I have stilled my soul, hushed it like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me. Israel, hope in the Lord, now and forever. Amen.
Written on October 5, 2008 and posted today as a Favorite.
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