Have you ever noticed that some psalms don’t get much airtime? Here’s an example:
“I have calmed and quieted my soul, I am like a weaned child with its mother…”
Most people prefer not to think about weaning, or they think of it as an awkward, unpleasant time. But in the ancient world, weaning was an important milestone on the path to maturity, and it was cause for celebration.
What does this have to do with you? Well, we’ve been talking about how we get distracted and dissatisfied when we’re starved for God’s glory. We can’t manufacture glory, but we can make space for it in our fragmented lives. And weaning yourself gradually off of unnecessary distractions is one of the most potent ways to make room for glory.
We’ve already talked about how fasting increases our capacity for glory. Fasting is a drastic change that temporarily frees you from distractions. It gives you a taste of what’s possible. Weaning is about making incremental changes that last. There’s a place for both.
Once fasting has given your senses a chance to re-calibrate, you may notice you’d rather live without some of the clutter and noise you tolerated before. Less clutter=more glory.
For example, I used to fast periodically from sweets, after I noticed that sugar consumption dulls my thinking. Then I decided to wean myself off of sugar altogether (I’m all for enjoying life, and I still make desserts for special occasions, I just use natural sweeteners that don’t mess with me as much). That one change has meant so much less distraction and so much more awareness of God’s glory.
You might be thinking, what does sugar have to do with God’s Glory? Anything that numbs you, anything you use to escape or alter your mood may also be numbing your experience of God. Brene Brown has this to say about numbing,
“We cannot selectively numb emotions, when we numb the painful emotions, we also numb the positive emotions.”
The same holds true for our experience of God. If we numb in any part of our lives, we may miss out on glory that He wants to reveal to us.
Again, this isn’t about denying ourselves pleasure just for the sake of denial. There’s a difference between pleasure or comfort and numbing. Most of us numb without realizing it.
Just like with fasting, the point isn’t earning some kind of blessing through self denial. The point is always what you’re making room for, not what you’re giving up.
“on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.”
Weaning yourself off of any distraction, from coffee to Facebook, is worth celebrating.
What distraction will you wean yourself off of so you can make room for more of God’s glory in your life? Tell us in the comments below so we can celebrate with you!