Life is filled with overwhelming noise. Our old and constant Enemy orchestrates a cacophony of confusion around us. If we are not careful, we will fall right into his trap, and the results are disastrous.
The secret of David’s spiritual success was his determined choice to quiet his soul, explained to us in the three short verses that comprise Psalm 131 (NASB):
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor my eyes haughty;
nor do I involve myself in great matters,
or in things too difficult for me.
Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child rests against his mother,
my soul is like a weaned child within me.
O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time forth and forever.
David knew his limitations. Years on the Judean hillside had taught him the absolute necessity of a quieted soul that found not only God’s comfort, but His direction.
Therefore, when thrust into the limelight of national politics, he chose to humbly do what he could about the matters around him without the neglect of intimacy with the Master. To lose this was to lose the one Voice that could sustain and direct him.
Be Still, My Soul
Our soul is composed of our mind (where we think), our emotions (where we feel), and our will (where we decide). Before the Spirit indwells us, our soul is our only operating system. Our human spirit is dead because it has not yet been regenerated by the Spirit of God. Salvation remedies this lack.
If we are not careful, we will revert back to these soulish faculties after salvation, instead of listening to the Spirit and following His leadership. An untamed soul can pull us in a thousand directions and create so much noise that the still, small voice of the Lord is undiscernible.
The serious follower of Christ must continually renew his mind, tame his emotions, and surrender his will to the will of God. This is possible through God’s grace and the power of the indwelling Spirit.
But without the believer’s conscious and determined choice to do so, he will naturally slide into a busied, soulish life. The Spirit within will be muted, and life will be driven by humanism.
A Weaned Child
But the results are stunning for those who daily, deliberately refuse the noise … who take time throughout the day to humbly admit their need and quiet their soul with a hunger to hear.
David said, “Like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me.” In other words, his mind, emotions, and will were leaning in to encounter Christ, to listen to His heartbeat, to feel His warmth and affection, to receive His direction.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you,” James promises (James 4:8). Without Him, we will find ourselves starving from the lack of affection which only His presence provides.