“Some measures of trust”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Thursday, June 30, 2022

Psalm 131 (Forward, p. 63) CEV p. 637

Today’s rather short and diminutive psalm—it is only three verses in length—is nevertheless quite remarkable for the message it conveys. It is all about trusting in God and has three things to say about it:

a) Trust in God brings about contentment and peace of mind and a sense of safety and security, knowing that with God all is well--like a young child nestled in the loving arms of a parent;

b) Trust in God implies a centredness in God and not in ourselves, thus eliminating in ourselves any sense of conceit or false pride, and bringing about a sense of satisfaction because we know that God is handling everything;

c) Trust in God means leaving things in His hands and submitting our plans and ideas to Him for His direction (and approval?). That means that we don’t waste our time with senseless or impossible or fruitless schemes, but only on what God wants and directs.

So, we are enjoined to trust in God always and in everything, which for many of us, stubborn, independent-minded people, is very hard indeed. Many of us would rather ‘do it ourselves’ and do it ‘my way’. Often God becomes the second line of defence, the second choice, when really He should be the first. Surely it is something that most of us need help in. Amen.

Forward notes: “But I still my soul and make it quiet, like a child upon its mother’s breast; my soul is quieted within me” (verse 3).

“Every now and then, I wake up in the middle of the night, struck with a shapeless anxiety that makes it hard to return to sleep. Sometimes counting sheep or saying the Song of Simeon to myself is enough to pacify my mind, but not always.

“When the worries are more stubborn, I make productive use of the time by praying the Litany of Intercessions in the Night from Saint Augustine’s

Prayer Book. This litany, a few pages long, turns the attention of my soul to those who are also awake: parents with sleepless infants, bus drivers, journalists, people in bars, and many others.

“I trust in the power of prayer, but I have no way of knowing what God does in the lives of those named in the litany. What I do know is that when I turn away from my own worries and toward the cares of others for a time, God quiets my mind and stills my soul.”

MOVING FORWARD: “Do you have a prayer book on your nightstand for these times of sleeplessness? Consider adding one and use bookmarks or ribbons to note special prayers.”