The need to be weaned . . .

 

 

READ Psalm 130–134

My mother gave me a great gift. It was not wrapped in paper or visible but a gift of how to think about life. I realized it when the Lord drew me to consider these verses and what they mean . . .

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131:1–2)

Any mother who breastfeeds her children knows the eager search for her supply when they are hungry or sometimes just want comfort. For some, that grasping for her can continue as the child grows older, even after learning how to drink from a cup. However, a weaned child is not like that. That child can sit on mother’s lap and be content, calm and quiet with a sense that mom is right there to care for all needs but able to wait for her to do that.

It is the same with learning how to trust God to supply, knowing He is there and able and I don’t have to make hungry demands because I have been weaned from all desperation. In effect, my mother did that by her often saying, “We must need it or we wouldn’t be getting it.” Those words expressed a trust in God to take care of needs. While she came at it from an almost negative perspective, my mother was calm, accepting, rarely anxious with that attitude of “I must do something.” She didn’t get involved with “things too great and too marvelous” for her. All that belonged to God.

Today’s reading also includes this verse: “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” Psalm 133:1) As I read it, it seemed the two ideas are connected. That is, those who are “occupied with things too great” for them seldom fit into the idea of being united with others. Unity is not a group of ambitious people, even if they all have the same ambition. Competition and striving for something that is marvelous sounds wonderful, but only if the Lord is in it. If not, the sinful flesh takes over and conflict easily follows.

Today’s devotional refers to the church at Corinth in the NT. Those believers wanted lofty things without relying on the Lord to direct them, never mind grant their ambitions. Paul wrote to them about their lack of unity.

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? (1 Corinthians 1:10–13)

Their disunity caused other problems besides this competitive spirit. Instead of focusing on Christ, they were seeking their own glory.

Certainly we cannot confuse unity with uniformity. Unity involves relationships of respect, mutual love and an attitude of trust in God to supply, much like a weaned child who is content that all needs will be met without grasping or fighting for them.

Unity is also pleasant. It brings a sense of satisfaction, contentment, the ability to be calm knowing that God is there to take care of all things. It comes to hearts that realize how the Gospel has put them all on the same footing — saved, forgiven, a child of God through grace. In this way, unity is a blessing, not just for believers but for the culture around us. The world needs to experience the salt and light of Christian unity, of weaned people who are content because without Christ they are not aware that it is possible to live that way! Our example can provoke others to want that same harmony, that same calm heart that isn’t striving against others as if in competition or self-defense, and that isn’t anxious about missing out unless they have everything they want.

Being weaned from that human striving to have/get/be something has far-reaching effects. Thank God for my mother who showed me what it means to live in contentment, trusting God to supply. God used her in my life to answer Jesus’ prayer, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, [are] in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20–21) Thank You Lord for my mother!