BIG IDEA:
THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT IS TO BALANCE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OF SELF WITH LOFTY HOPE IN THE LORD
I. (:1) REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OF SELF
A. Humility in Attitude
1. How I think about myself
“O Lord, my heart is not proud”
not being puffed up with a sense of my own importance
2. How I think about others
“nor my eyes haughty”
not expressing arrogance or contempt towards others
B. Humility in Actions – Not biting off more than I can chew
1. Degree of Importance
“Nor do I involve myself in great matters”
2. Degree of Difficulty
“Or in things too difficult for me”
cf. the Pride surrounding the Tower of Babel incident
We must guard against striving to do what only God can do; God might desire to work through us, but we must be careful not to attempt such things in the flesh.
II. (:2) THE PEACE OF CONTENTMENT
A. Attained by Actively Focusing My Soul on the Lord’s Sufficiency
“Surely I have composed and quieted my soul”
B. Maintained by Quietly Resting My Soul on the Lord’s Lovingkindness
“Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.”
III. (:3) LOFTY HOPE IN THE LORD
“O Israel, hope in the Lord From this time forth and forever.”