The Satisfied Soul

I just have to confess at the outset that I have never nursed a baby, much less weaned one. I have seen the process up close and I have been assured that it would break me. I have no doubt that this is true. My only real experience would be from the baby end, and while I don't remember that, I do know that as an adult, trying to pry any habitual happiness from my grasp is a herculean endeavor. I doubt I was any more chill as an infant. It's a work of God's mercy that I don't go postal every Lenten season.We tend to think of weaning in negative terms, as in the process of eliminating an unwanted desire, like breaking a bad habit. But milk is not a bad habit - it's good for babies! The word used in the Bible for weaning, including in Psalm 131, is often translated in other passages as "satisfied." So, when the prophet Samuel's mother committed to consecrate the child to temple service "as soon as he was weaned," that was not merely a concession for immaturity - there's a positive good being described here. Eventually, the child will move from milk to meat, but it won't be the breaking of a bad habit. It will be the transition from one kind of neediness to another: a fulfillment. And he will never graduate from the need to be fully satisfied with what's good for him.I personally would love to get to the point where the best description of my soul would be that of a milk-drunk baby. That's a real picture of happiness. This week we're going to explore what we can do about cultivating that satisfied soul. Spurgeon said of this Psalm that it's one of the shortest to read and most difficult to learn. That definitely resonates with my own experience. I hope you can join us!- josh