(REFLECTIONS ON Psalm 131:1-3)

Today’s Psalm is only 3 verses long. It keeps things simple, and that is the point. The simple life is not about removing oneself from this complicated, complex, chaotic, noisy world, but rather to dwell in the space of peace that the Lord provides.

The secret to the simple life then is sometimes to just let things go and let things be and not allow the compulsion to get involved in controversy overwhelm us, but rather to rest in the Lord. The psalmist writes,

1 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.

The simple life requires us to humble ourselves before the Lord, because it is our own pride, thinking that we need to get involved and fight the chaos that surrounds the world on each and every occasion, regarding each and every cause, rather than to have wisdom from above knowing when to get involved, and when to let God do His work.

The simple life is not to think so highly of oneself as if all great matters need me, and or all difficult things require my wisdom, experience, and strength.

Rather, the psalmist desires to be like a child resting against his mother,

2 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.

The simple life requires us to compose and quiet our soul, because the noise and hoopla that comes from the world tempts us and tries to draws us into the chaos, rather than finding rest in the Lord. “But we need to be there,” we say to ourselves, but the simple life is to compose and quiet our soul, like a child rests against their mother, and like a child rests in the hands of the Lord.

The simple life doesn’t mean that we are not responsible for our lives on earth, but rather it is a position of not letting the winds and the waves to dictate when we move, act, or talk, but rather to have a confidence in the Lord, and a composed and quieted soul because our hope is in Him from this time forth and forever..

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Psalm 131