Weaned from Self

Beloved,

What would it look like to live weaned from SELF? To be sure, Christians want to live weaned from the world, but what about self? David presents this reality in Psalm 131 (many thanks to David Powlison here)..

Psalm 131:1-3
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.

 

2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

 

3 O Israel, hope in the LORD from this time forth and forevermore.

A weaned child can sit on his/her mother’s lap and not root, not fuss, not whine. The child has come to see that mom will give when needed. So… the child rests content. What if we lived that way with God? What if we actually believed that God was good, great, and wise… and thus everything that comes to us today was already screened and deemed good for us by our heavenly Father?

If we truly trusted God, deeply believed that He would only bring what is needed into our lives for our eternal good, I would imagine we would ask “why?” far less often. Indeed, if I trusted God, I would simply receive what He ordains with gratitude…. with thanksgiving (cf. 1 Thess 5:18).

O Christian, do not hope in yourself or lean on your own understanding (Prov 3:5). Trust the Lord. He knows what you need. He is faithful to give exactly what you need to be made more like Jesus. O Christian, wean yourself from trusting in self… wean your soul from self.

10,000 Blessings in THE Wonderful Counselor,
Jim