Psalm 131
I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul……..BUT HOW?, IS THE QUESTION.
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.
Psalm 6…YES, WE OFTEN FIND WE ARE IN A PLACE OF FRUSTRATION, ANGER, GRIEF, SADNESS, DESPAIR…
6 I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
EVERYDAY I SEE PEOPLE SUFFERING, AND I SAT IN A WORKSHOP LAST WEEK LEARNING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH MANY DIFFERENT THINGS AND LEFT UNDERSTANDING THE STRUGGLE MORE, BUT ALSO WITH THE QUESTION…BUT HOW ABOUT THE COPING? BUT HOW?
GOD SAID DAVID WAS A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART IN 1 SAMUEL 13 AND ACTS 13, YET HE WAS AN ADULTERER, RAN INTO CAVES, EXPRESSED ANXIETY, FEAR, ANGER, GRIEF…SO HOW WAS HE A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART? HE CERTAINLY DEMONSTRATED HUMANITY AND THE STRUGGLES WE EXPERIENCE. BUT HOW WAS HE A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART?
SO THIS MORNING I DECIDED TO LOOK UP HIS ACTIONS IN THE PSALMS. HOW DID HE SEEK THE HEART OF GOD? HOW DID HE COPE? WHAT WERE THE VERBS? THE ACTION WORDS? BUT HOW…
Psalm 8
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
Psalm 9
I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
Psalm 18
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Psalm 19
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Psalm 30
1 I will extol thee, O Lord;
8To you, O Lord, I cry,
and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
Psalm 31
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.
Psalm 32
5I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
Psalm 35
18 I will thank you in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.
Psalm 37
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Psalm 40 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
Psalm 49
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
Psalm 51
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Psalm 57
7I will sing and make melody!
Psalm 61
8So will I ever sing praises to your name,
as I perform my vows day after day.
Psalm 63
6when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
Psalm 71
1In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
Psalm 91
2 I will say[a] to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
A Psalm of David.
101 I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O Lord, I will make music.
2 I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
3 I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
Psalm 119
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 122
8 For my brothers and companions’ sake
I will say, “Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
Psalm 130
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
Psalm 142
2 I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
HOW? BY BEING REAL BEFORE GOD. EXPRESSING EMOTIONS. GIVING UP CONTROL. DAILY SEEKING GOD, PRAISING GOD, REPENTING TO GOD…BEING STILL WITH GOD…IF ONLY FOR A MOMENT…BEING WITH GOD IN ORDER TO FIND THE, BUT HOW…FOR YOU.
kimdcrawford 12.20.2016
Unveiled & Untangled 
Such a good word today.
And, wow. I was just working on something this morning where I plan to contrast David’s shortcomings with his strengths. I clicked “save” and thought “I’ll need to go through and find verses that show his strengths.” And voila! Thanks, Kim! You’ve done my research for me! 😊
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How awesome God is to send us shared thoughts which allow for connection and confirmation!
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