The Journey Isn't Done, But I'm Working Toward Seeing The Destination More Clearly.

 

As the name of my blog--"The View Through My Keyhole"--would imply, these musings are about how I see things. It is also an admission that my view is limited. Recently two scenes appeared side-by-side in my vision of the world. One has to do with the current cultural moment and how we respond to it (here). It references some other observers/thinkers who operate on a higher pay grade than me. The other scene is timeless. It comes from the Psalms of ascent or degrees, songs the ancient Israelites sang as they made their way to the annual feasts that were anchors of their faith and way of life. You can find my thoughts here, here, and here.

A journey implies a destination.

Psalms 120-134 were not only songs that were actually sung as worshippers traveled to Zion (Jerusalem) to worship on the various feast days, in the present--our present--these portions of Scripture contain truth that will aid us in our attempts to deal with the world around us, to move from being distressed (120:1) to experiencing the blessing that comes from a right relationship with God (134).

Psalm 131, a song that I see as the culmination of a triad in this repertoire of travel songs, with achingly beautiful words gives the absolute essential ingredient to finding peace in our journey through this world.

LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. ² Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. ³ O Israel, put your hope in the Lord— now and always. (Psalm 131, NLT)

 David, a man who had experienced a lot of life, begins with a profound statement of realistic humility. It is a reminder that is much needed in our time. For some of us the modernistic notion that with enough money, research, and power we can solve any problem, correct every wrong, educate every child to the level of sheer genius, and make every train run on time still reigns supreme. Just as wrong-headed is the pride that some postmoderns have in their ignorance. Any surety of thought has been relativized away. The one thing they are arrogantly sure of is, is not only are they unsure of everything but so is everyone else. (I want to make a comparison to hogs wallowing in the mud, but I'll resist.) 

Deuteronomy 29:29 is an important part of God's prescription for successfully living life in this world. It is one of life's hardest tasks, stay balanced. There are things that we know; I know I know these things because God told them to me. I'm responsible to deal with with those. I know I am to love my wife with self-sacrificial love. I am to train up my children in the way of the Lord. I am to be kind to my neighbor (and my neighbors include the modern equivalents of Samaritans). I could go on, but the fact of the matter is clear. There are plenty of things that I do understand, not only in the realm of what I should do, but also concerning matters that I can know. Does that mean I know it all? Absolutely not! Thats the other end of the teeter-totter. I imagine David had learned from Job to not speak of things too wonderful for him..

Instead he had quieted his soul. There is a deliberateness about what he did. I had an experience recently in which I had to work on that. There is not a switch on the side of my head labeled "Quiet." Still there are steps I can take. One is in the cognitive realm. "Think about it Howard. Can you hope to really understand this? Can you do anything about it? The answer leads to humility and quietness.

I need to be weaned from the false notion that I am in control. I'm not. And, if I think about it, I'm glad that I'm not in control of the things that really matter. I'd just mess them up. 

Some years ago wrestling my way through the story of Job, and allowing Romans 8 to offer commentary, I came to the conclusion that one reason God allows distressing things into our lives is to show us, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that hope that is placed anywhere other than in the Lord, is hope misplaced. "Hope in the Lord--now and always." That leads to the blessed peace, like that the worshippers found in Jerusalem when their pilgrimage was complete..

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? ²⁸ Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. ²⁹ He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. ³⁰ Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; ³¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:27–31, ESV)