Every once in a while, people ask me if I get nervous before I preach. I have to be honest and answer that I don't.
When I first started preaching, I didn't know enough to be nervous. I was young. I had a sermon, a Bible, and more confidence than wisdom. I had no idea what it meant to stand before people and speak on behalf of God's Word. If I had known then what I know now! If I understood the weight of the calling, the responsibility, and even the privilege, I probably would have been terrified.
Funny how that works. The more we grow, the more we realize how much we don't know.
Psalm 131 expresses that kind of humility. The psalmist says, "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." Instead, he says, "I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother."
That isn't a word against education or gaining wisdom. What it pictures is a weaned child who isn't holding on to be fed. She just wants to rest with her mother because she trusts her.
That image has helped me become a better, more grounded preacher, but also, more importantly, a better worshiper. I don't need to pretend to have all the answers when I trust the One who does. As I've grown as a preacher, I've become less confident in myself and more confident in God. And that's a maturity the Spirit gives to us all.
Psalm 131 invites us to live that way. Quiet your soul. Let go of the need to understand everything. Rest in the presence of God like a child resting safely with a loving parent. You may not know enough to explain everything that's happening in your life. But you know enough to trust God.
Stay blessed...john
Comments