I want to know why! If I don’t get answers soon it will drive me crazy! I absolutely HAVE TO UNDERSTAND why God has allowed this to happen in my life. These are thoughts that seem to invade our minds and hearts often. It doesn’t take much to disappoint and discourage us when we see news stories about the world literally falling apart. While God is doing some absolutely amazing things in the lives of so many people, we never hear those stories. I can understand how this can make us weary. It makes us ask God so many questions. What keeps us from the valuable hope se so desperatel need?

We must understand our limitations (v.1)

David understands that there are things that are too great for him to understand. And he is fine with that. Are we fine with that? Are we fine with not having all the answers to our circumstances? He is not worried or concerned. In fact, He says that he doesn’t “occupy (himself) with things too great and too marvelous for me.”

In essence, when he looked at the magnificent and treacherous workings of the world, the rain that falls, the snow that covers the ground, the disease that traps healthy bodies, and many other things not understood, he did not seek to understand those things. Why?

While David did not understand everything about some things, he did not allow it to bother him. There was no pride in him and he didn’t have to understand everything. In many ways, this is an example of a truly humble spirit. David understood his limitations and God’s limitless knowledge. David displayed trust.

We must calm and quiet our soul (v.2a)

How we approach things we don’t understand makes all the difference in our disposition. David did not understand all he saw or experienced, but he did understand how to approach them. When we do as David did it helps us to consider our experiences in life.

First, David was not driven by selfish ambition and pride to understand everything. While many of us worry endlessly about our circumstances and wring our hands over things we don’t understand, we should do what David did. He simply understood he didn’t have all the answers and it was unnecessary to have them.

I have to say that is very difficult for me. I sometimes concern myself with the “why” question with God. “God, why did You allow this or that to happen?” “Why am I going through such a difficult time?” “Why didn’t you intervene in this situation?” I honestly struggle with that sometimes. Do you?

David did question God often in the book of Psalms, but here we see the example of what happens when he got to a good place in his heart.

Second, David quieted his soul. His soul became silent. In a real sense,  David determined in his heart to worry no longer. Philippians 4:6-8 helps us to understand this great reality. Prayer and submission to the Lord is the way to real freedom from worry in life.

We must separate ourselves from ourselves (v.2b)

Honestly, this is the truth of the matter. David describes how he was able to calm and quiet his soul by giving us a great picture. In the picture given we see an infant being weaned from his mother.

There is an amazing freedom that comes from the separation of our pride, fears, and questions. This freedom is an amazing way to live. This is not very easy because we are so used to having the comfort and immediacy of having our needs always met and knowing we will be fed when hungry. But after weaning and after growing and after maturing we then have to live with a different mindset.

We have to live with an understanding that understanding is not necessary. That sounds crazy!

We must place our hope in the Lord (v.3)

There is really only one way to quiet and calm our soul. It is to place our hope in the Lord. David is very clear by saying that his hope was in the Lord. Any other hope is misplaced hope.

We sometimes hope in our education, our abilities, our understanding, and our accomplishments. These are all misplaced. These all feed the pride and self-sufficiency in our lives. I know what you’re thinking. “Is it that simple?” The answer is “YES, it’s that simple. We must separate ourselves from a disquieted soul and attach ourselves to a peaceful hope in the Lord.

This peaceful and absolute hope in the Lord comes from a strong faith in God’s purposes and plans for our lives. We must trust Him completely.

Some Questions…

  1. What holds you back from completely trusting God with circumstances in your life?
  2. What things need to change so you can trust God?
  3. Has personal pride replaced hope in God? What are some practical ways you can