January 12
Be You!
LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. Psalms 131:1 (NKJV)
Before we dig into this verse, we need to be clear about something. God is into learning. He wants us to continually grow and gain in our knowledge and understanding, especially when it comes to His Word (2 Timothy 2:15).
There's a countertruth, however, that David alludes to here. And that's this: While there's honor in learning, there's also wisdom in knowing your limitations and simply being you.
David understood who God made him to be, and he wasn't going to spend his life trying to go beyond that. He wasn't against learning, but he wasn't going to steep himself in studying or pursuing things that really didn't have anything to do with who he was. And because he was at total peace with what the Lord had made and called him to be, he experienced the kind of contentment we all want:
Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalms 131:2 NKJV)
How many of us are doing the exact opposite? How many of us are concerning ourselves with things that are too profound for us? Again, this doesn't mean we don't expand our expertise or experience in life. But what if we do so at the expense of embracing who we are by God's will?
God doesn't want us to try to be someone else. He wants us to be us, and a big part of that is not going beyond the lines that help define our desires and dispositions. We would do well to follow David's example…to know who we are, embrace who we are, and be who we are.
Dear God, protect us from the temptation of trying to be someone we're not…and help us to know and be who you've made us to be.
Think About It…
What does this passage reveal to me about God?
What does this passage reveal to me about myself?
Based on this, what changes do I need to make?
What is my prayer for today?
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