Focus

Stop and thank God for being present with you today. Ask for God’s guidance as you hear God’s voice through scripture and the writer.

---

Read

Psalm 131 (NRSV)

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.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.

O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time on and forevermore.

---

Reflect

“But I have calmed and quieted my soul” (verse 2). Whenever I read this psalm these are the words that stick with me. Oh, to have a truly calmed and quieted soul. What would that look like? I have seen glimpses of such a thing, fleeting moments—after supper in my back yard as the sun sets and my children happily play in front of me, in worship when I am caught up in song and melody, on an early morning walk with the cool breeze against my face and the soft song of robins filling the air.

Most of the time, calm and quiet are not predominant in my life. When I lay down at night, my mind is full to the brim of to-do lists and things I have forgotten to do. I replay all the things that I did wrong, or things that I simply could have done better. It is in those moments that the words of the psalmist are like a whisper into my ear…”calm and quiet my soul.” In these words God gives me the grace to step away from the to-dos and done wrongs and restores brief moments of calm and quiet to my soul.

---

Pray

Holy God, calm my soul today. From my rising up to my laying down, quiet the busyness around me. Whisper the words of the psalmist to me throughout this day and allow me to have the peace that comes from you alone. Let me have a calmed and quieted soul this day. Amen.

Go with God.