Calm in the Chaos: Trust Lessons from Psalm 131
I’m curious, did you begin the year with any expectations? Most of us enter January hoping the new year will be better than the previous year. Many of us set resolutions. Some organize a room, a schedule, or a particular area of one’s life. I am sure some of you even began a program to assist your health, education, or ability to relax.
Not What I Expected
I didn’t begin the year with a written set of expectations. However, I did NOT expect to still be painting bedrooms after moving into our house. I sincerely believed we would finish that task before Thanksgiving! Instead, we began 2026 with two bedrooms, and one bathroom still in need of fresh paint.
In my new 2026 calendar, I wrote down the task to paint a guest room in January, week one. I penciled in other priorities for the week such as mailing our quarter four taxes for 2025, taking down the Christmas décor, and applying for a Missouri driver’s license. I admit, taping and painting a room was on the bottom of my mental list.
My sweet Pastor achiever husband wouldn’t let the room remain undone. He pleasantly inquired when I would tape and begin to cut in so he could plan to do his task of rolling the paint. I set aside a morning to clean the baseboards and tape off all the trim work.
Painting and Podcasts
As I worked, I listened to podcasts to keep my mind occupied. One of the podcasts I listen to consistently is The Best of You with Dr. Alison Cook. She began a new daily devotional for 2026. Each day, she reads a scripture and then reflects on it through the lens of psychology. I played catch-up with her devotionals.
As I listened, one devotional stood out in particular to me. On Monday, January 5, she discussed Psalm 131. She specifically discussed the phrase from verse two, “I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother.”
“LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child. Israel, put your hope in the LORD, both now and forever.”
Psalm 131, CSB
Perhaps I listened to her more carefully because my soul wasn’t calm and quiet when I began taping and painting. I felt annoyed and disappointed that the painting was not yet finished. I wanted the job to be miraculously done without me having to crawl around on the floor to paint along the baseboards and then climb a ladder to paint along the edge of the ceiling.
Comfort in Presence
Doctor Cook emphasized the weaned child is calm because “a weaned child is still attached to her mother, but no longer frantic, still dependent but no longer desperate, still connected but no longer grasping for immediate relief.” An infant learns to trust her mother; she knows care will come. The mother proved herself reliable and the child now finds comfort in experiencing her presence.
I sat on the floor of the bedroom and admitted to myself I was not resting in God’s presence. I didn’t choose to seek Him out at all. Instead, I grumpily went about the task of what needed to be done.
Later, as I looked more closely at Psalm 131, I realized I behaved pridefully. I focused only on how I felt inconvenienced and how much I didn’t want to paint. In addition, I bought into lies that surfaced from my fears. The job would take too long, I would be bored, and I would be sore from crawling around on the floor.
Experience is our Teacher
Holy Spirit reminded me of the process my sweet Pastor husband and I used to train our son to fall asleep on his own. When he cried in the middle of the night, we would go to him, but we wouldn’t pick him up. I remember how I rubbed his back and whispered words of comfort and assurance. When we first began the training, one of us would go into his room multiple times a night, just being present with him.
Our son learned through repeated experience that help was available. He was never fully alone; we were present. He also learned he could do hard things, like go to sleep without being rocked or held.
We must train ourselves in a similar fashion to trust the presence of God. Each of us experiences circumstances that aren’t life shattering, and yet we end the day frustrated, exhausted, and discouraged. David gives us three simple steps which train us to trust the presence of God in those difficult moments.
God is Lord
First of all, we must align with the truth that God is Lord (Psalm 131:1). God is the One in charge of all things. He carries the weight and responsibility of being Sovereign. We train ourselves by learning scripture like 1 Chronicles 29:11-12. “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” (NIV)
Release Pride
Secondly, we must set aside our selfishness and pride (Psalm 131:1). If we believe God is Lord, then we are not the ones in control. We must not make everything about us. Plus, we must recognize there are circumstances we won’t understand.
The Psalmist clearly states that some things are too great for us to be concerned with. He doesn’t say he calmed his circumstance, or he figured everything out. In Psalm 139, David says, “You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (verses 5-7, NIV) David knew he had distinct limits and God did not.
God is Our Refuge
Finally, we must take refuge in God (Psalm 131:2). Many of us have learned songs and scriptures that speak of God as our hiding place or strong tower. We believe the words, but we struggle to live them well. All of us must remember we are in the process of learning; each of us is in training.
We learn to trust God and rely on Him by reminding ourselves of His faithful love. In addition, we practice believing God genuinely loves us through regularly placing ourselves in His presence, and by identifying His goodness to us. We bring our requests to Him; we pour our hearts out and then quiet ourselves to discover what He wants to say to our spirits.
Repeat the Experience
Just as it took my sweet Pastor husband and I many nights to train our boy, we must repeatedly take refuge in God’s presence. A weaned child learns from experience. We are no different.
I admit, the day I prepped to paint, I wasn’t intentional about finding refuge in God’s presence. However, I was listening to scripture. As I worked, I became more motivated and felt good about being productive. As a bonus, the work went much faster than I expected. I reaped the blessing of setting my wants aside and experiencing the presence of God. Even while doing what I didn’t want to do.
What is causing you anxiety, frustration, fear, or just a plain old bad attitude? David tells us to put our hope in the Lord. He instructs us to allow His presence to calm us. Most likely, you won’t immediately feel soothed or at peace, because we are still in training. We learn from experiencing how reliable God is.
And God is always faithful. Now and forevermore.
Baby Holding Finger Photo by Muhamad Harun Rabiyudin on Unsplash
