Summer in the Psalms - Psalm 131

When I Feel Restless

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The cycle of overwhelm. We all know this. The things in the cycle, causing it to pick up momentum vary but the overwhelming result is not a foreign feeling to any of us.

To interrupt this cycle, we need to learn to use our minds to calm and quiet our brains. When we do, our soul finds rest. The truth is life is overwhelming but God has peace for us available to us today. Are we seeking this or surrendering to our circumstance and running the rat race?

This pivot is something my friend, Laura L. Smith has experienced too. She's sharing her reflection of Psalm 131 to help us recenter today and engage in the peace God has for us.

Laura L. Smith is an author, speaker, and podcaster. She’s written fifteen books including her most recent two, Brave Woman, Mighty God and The Urgency of Slowing Down. She lives in the charming college town of Oxford, Ohio with her husband and the youngest of their four young adult kids. There you’ll find her running the wooded trails, strolling the local farmer’s market, or sipping an almond milk mocha at her favorite coffee shop. Find her at www.laurasmithauthor.com and @laurasmithauthor on Instagram.

Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord—now and always.  –Psalm 131:2-3 NLT

My heart felt restless. I was in the middle of a book launch and fall sports seasons for my kids and had a zillion and eight things on my to do list, but was just bouncing around from one to the next without getting any of them done. I’d open an article I was writing on my laptop and stare at it, write one sentence, and then delete it. With that tab still open I Googled a bakery my daughter told me about and saw an actress had been there, which led me down a rabbit trail of a list of her movies. This was surprisingly not on my to do list. I jotted down the ingredients I needed to bake the cookies for the cross country meet and make the pasta for the soccer picnic and tried to find an opening in my calendar when I could prepare them. Then I checked email, just in case I had gotten the response I was waiting for.

I was stuck in a cycle of overwhelm. I could feel it. I didn’t want to be there. Still, as I attempted to juggle all the things, in the back of my brain lingered worry.  Would I get it all done? Would I get it done well? And my book release? Would folks like my new title? Would my publisher be pleased with the results? 

I was spinning my wheels and getting nowhere.

And then I went on a run. The sky was clear cerulean. The air smelled of freshly mown grass. I exhaled, then inhaled the beauty, and pushed play on my playlist. The musicians sang in my ears about really walking with God, opening my eyes to truly see Jesus, and how God’s love is always there for me, calming and freeing me. I felt an overwhelming peace in my soul. All the what ifs and how abouts swirling around my brain were silenced as I sang along. I felt the warmth of the sun on my face plus the warmth of God’s great love for me in my heart.

I, like King David who wrote Psalm 131, found a cure for restlessness. I had calmed and quieted myself (v.2) by reminding myself, I could put my hope in the Lord (v.3) –for my schedule, my outcomes, my family, my tasks, all of it. 

Worship. It’s something King David knew so well. The psalms are songs, many of which David wrote and sang to process his life with the Lord–the good, the bad, the happy, the sad, and everything in between. 

Worship is such a simple thing–singing truths about God. 

And it’s a life changing thing. 

We see it modeled time and time again for us, not just by David but by so many women in the Bible. Miriam, Hannah, Deborah, Mary–they all sang songs to the Lord. And when they did, it reminded them of His great love and faithfulness. It quieted and calmed their very souls. We can do the same.

Where do you feel restless today? Try singing to the Lord. When we do it reminds us of three game changing truths:

1. God can do anything

2. God is good 

3. God is on our side

Since the all-powerful God whose aim is love, joy, peace, restoration, and redemption is on our side, then we can, as we’re instructed in Psalm 131, calm and quiet ourselves. We can put our hope in this almighty good God. When we do, we regain our focus, our problems feel more manageable, and we remember we are chosen and loved.

No matter what singing to the Lord looks like for you, God can use it to calm and quiet your soul, to remind you where your hope comes from, to marinate you in the love and peace Jesus has for you today and every day. It’s the perfect cure for restlessness.

Now, It's Your Turn!

I challenge you to take a moment to pray, then read or listen to Psalm 131 today. Think about what stands out to you. Consider writing down a statement of faith. It may help to think of this as an I-statement. Maybe yours is similar to Laura's:

I will calm and quiet myself (v.2) by reminding myself, I can put my hope in the Lord (v.3) –for my schedule, my outcomes, my family, my tasks, all of it. 

Then, jot down a question to think about today. Maybe yours is similar to Laura's:

Where do I feel restless today? Where is my hope misplaced in my strength or good outcomes rather than in Christ?

May this reflection lead our hearts to gratitude and praise today and may we stand in victory against the tactics and schemes of the enemy.

And praise God for refreshment as we are intentional to spend a summer in the Psalms together, for if we want His truth to ever be on our lips, it must first be planted in our hearts.

Our strength grows as we rely on strength from above. Our joy grows as we see God transforming us from the inside out. Our peace grows as we spend time in God's presence, and we find rest when we intentionally seek the Lord first in our lives, for the Lord is ever our portion.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.

I love hearing from you, so go ahead. Leave a comment. Be brave. Maybe your comment will speak life into someone else!

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