Hoping in God

LORD, my heart is not proud; nor are my eyes haughty. I do not busy myself with great matters, with things too sublime for me. Rather, I have stilled my soul, hushed it like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother's lap, so is my soul within me. Israel, hope in the LORD, now and forever. Psalm 113

It's a short psalm yet it portrays how we should hope in the LORD. Sometimes, insightful message need not to be in novels but in small conveyance.

So how does this psalm reflects our hope in God?

Your heart and vision direct where your hope lies.
If your heart is full of yourself, then your hope lies in you. When your life is in turmoil and proudly cast your hope in what you have in you, your hope lies in your wherewithal. If your eyes see you are bigger than God, your hope lies in you. When your vision looks to your security where God is not in the frame, your hope lies in what you can do or what other people can do. Whenever you need something or about to do more than what you used to do, if your heart depends on you and your eyes look to yourself, hope does not lie in God.

Your hope lies in God whatever great things or magnificent matters you are facing.
David might be facing tough challenges. He might be having matters greater than his capacity or skills. Yet, these great things or magnificent matters do not keep him busy. It does not make him startled. He is not worried. He is not moved. His hope is God. We are called to be like that. Problems, typhoons, dirty politics in government, job insecurity will confront our lives. These things will not get us busy. We will not be moved. We will not be worried. Our hope is in God.

Hope is dependence in God.
David illustrates dependence in God as a weaned child sitting on a mother's lap. A weaned child is one who has stopped nursing milk from the mother and started to have solid food intake. A weaned child, in effect, has gained independence and is detached from the mother. However, David points to a weaned child still dependent and still attached to the mother. When we have grown as a child at some point we take independence from our parents, but not in our relationship with God. The more you grow, the more we should be rooted in God. You have been following Jesus for five months, ten years, more than a decade, twenty years or more, your call in your first day with the LORD remains the same - depend on God. Our souls are stilled in God alone.

Friends, now and forever - hope in the LORD.