Seminary
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Seth Grotzke shares about his ministry in Spain, including church planting in Galicia and engaging with pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. He uses Psalm 131 to address the universal human search for hope and meaning, drawing parallels between ancient pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem and modern pilgrims seeking spiritual answers on the Camino.

Scripture Text

Psalm 131

Main Points or Ideas

• Recognize Our Finiteness – David acknowledges his limitations by confessing that his heart is not lifted up in pride, his eyes are not raised in arrogance, and he does not occupy himself with things too great for him. Despite David’s experiences with pride, arrogance, and ignorance throughout his life, this psalm represents a place he has come to where he recognizes his human limitations before God.
• Rest in Our Lord – David compares himself to a weaned child with its mother, illustrating a relationship with God that goes beyond merely seeking provision to simply desiring God’s presence. A weaned child (around three years old) comes to the mother not out of demanding need but out of contentment and desire for closeness. This demonstrates the strength it takes to acknowledge dependence and find rest in God, especially for leaders and warriors like David who might be tempted to self-sufficiency.
• Hope in the Lord – The psalm concludes with the call for Israel to hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. This hope is connected to Psalm 130’s themes of forgiveness, redemption, and God’s steadfast love. As believers living post-cross, we can read this psalm recognizing that Christ has made this hope fully possible, and we are called to live as pilgrims whose citizenship is in heaven.

Conclusion

God uses solitary places and seasons of obscurity to train believers not to become great spokesmen but to become like little children again before Him, resting in His presence and boasting only in Christ rather than in ministry accomplishments or positions.