Dealing With Change | Pastor Jim Asselin

Sep 20, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Weaned Child’s Rest: Unclenching Tiny Fists

A soul at rest does not demand explanations or outcomes. Like a child who stops clawing for milk and leans into a mother’s embrace, trust grows when we release our grip on what we think we need. This posture isn’t passive resignation but active surrender to the One who knows our needs before we ask. The psalmist compares rest to weaning—a process of learning dependence without desperation. To quiet the soul is to trade restless striving for anchored assurance. What does it look like to stop “occupying yourself with things too great” and simply be held? [01:22]

“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
(Psalm 131:2, ESV)

Reflection: Where is your soul still clenched like a fist, demanding control or answers? What would it look like to open your hands today, trusting the One who formed them?

Day 2: Engraved on God’s Palms: The Certainty of Being Remembered

God’s mindfulness of His children is not casual or intermittent. The prophet Isaiah paints a startling image: a mother’s love may falter, but God’s remembrance is permanent, etched into His very hands. This is not abstract care but intimate, detail-oriented devotion. Every struggle, fear, and hidden wound is seen and held. When restlessness whispers lies of abandonment, this truth anchors: you are not a fleeting thought but a permanent inscription in divine love. [20:18]

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”
(Isaiah 49:15–16, ESV)

Reflection: When have you felt most forgotten? How might the reality of being “engraved” shift your perspective on God’s presence in this season?

Day 3: Mercy’s Dawn: New Morning, New Trust

God’s faithfulness is not a fading resource but a daily renewal. Like manna in the wilderness, mercy arrives afresh each sunrise, tailored for today’s needs. Lamentations ties hope to this rhythm: morning by morning, grace proves itself. Anxiety often borrows trouble from tomorrow, but a weaned child learns to receive today’s portion without hoarding or fearing scarcity. Trust grows in the discipline of leaning into the “enough” of this moment’s mercy. [26:53]

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
(Lamentations 3:22–23, ESV)

Reflection: What burden from tomorrow are you carrying today? How can you practice receiving—and trusting—mercy’s daily bread?

Day 4: Refusing Counterfeit Lullabies: The Adversary’s Empty Promises

Restlessness often masquerades as solutions: more achievement, more distraction, more numbing. These false comforts promise rest but deliver only deeper exhaustion. The psalmist’s quiet soul rejects the adversary’s bait—the lie that God’s arms are insufficient. Every counterfeit god (success, approval, control) whispers, “This will calm you,” but only the true God says, “I AM your calm.” To rest is to wage war against these seductive substitutes. [22:54]

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
(1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV)

Reflection: What “counterfeit lullaby” have you been tempted to believe lately? How can you actively turn toward the true source of rest instead?

Day 5: Infinity and Beyond: When Waiting Becomes Worship

Biblical hope is not vague optimism but confident anticipation. Like a child certain of a parent’s return, we wait not because outcomes are guaranteed but because the Character behind the promise is unchanging. This hope stretches beyond earthly resolution—it is “forevermore” hope, rooted in Christ’s victory over sin and death. To wait well is to let today’s rest become a rehearsal for eternity’s unshakable peace. [28:35]

“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
(Romans 8:24–25, ESV)

Reflection: How might your current season of waiting train your heart for eternity? What would it look like to worship, not just endure, in the delay?

Sermon Summary

Psalm 131 meets a restless and weary world with only a few words, but those words pack a punch. David begins with Yahweh, the covenant God whose name carries mercy, grace, steadfast love, faithfulness, forgiveness, justice, and authority over all evil. God’s goodness becomes the starting point for a quiet soul because he is not distant, careless, or overwhelmed by what his children face.

David also refuses a lifted-up heart and eyes raised too high. Humility recognizes that God sees millions of things that human beings cannot see, from the workings of creation to the hidden purposes inside suffering. Anxiety often grows when a person believes every burden must be carried, every problem solved, and every outcome controlled. Humility alleviates that kind of anxiety by remembering two realities: God is good, and human beings are not God.

The image of the weaned child gives rest a face. A weaned child is no longer clamoring for immediate satisfaction but has learned that the mother is trustworthy. God calls his children to grow up in faith, to stop resting in what they can get from him, and to rest in the fact that he is holding them. God has dealt bountifully with his people through daily provision, adoption into his family, the gift of Christ, and the promise of eternal life.

Counterfeit gods promise relief but create greater restlessness. Possessions, money, power, position, stimulants, depressants, illicit relationships, and entertainment cannot give a soul what only God can give. The adversary says God has forgotten his children, but Isaiah answers that God has engraved them on the palms of his hands. His children are always before him.

David’s call to hope in the Lord is also a call to wait confidently. Hope is for what has not yet arrived, and a weaned child can wait because God’s mercies are new every morning. Christ has died for sin, risen from death, and intercedes for his people. Jesus also tells Peter that some things cannot be understood now but will be understood afterward. God’s purposes in trials may remain hidden for a time, but his goodness does not. Quiet rest is possible even when circumstances do not change, because Jesus holds today, tomorrow, and forevermore.

Key Takeaways

1. God is good, humans are not God [11:54] God’s goodness does not depend on a person’s ability to understand his timing or methods. Human limits are not evidence that God has lost control. Humility becomes a place of relief when a soul stops trying to carry burdens that belong to God alone. [11:54]
2. Choose to quiet your soul [13:35] David describes calmness as an action, not merely a feeling that appears when life gets easier. A soul must be told to hope in God rather than endlessly listen to its own fears. This choice does not deny pain, but it refuses to let turmoil become the final voice. [13:35]
3. Rest like a weaned child [15:30] The weaned child rests because trust has been built through repeated care. God’s children can remember breath, food, mercy, adoption, forgiveness, and the cross as evidence that they are bountifully loved. Mature faith rests in God himself, not merely in the gifts he provides. [15:30]
4. Reject counterfeit gods that promise rest [22:32] Counterfeit gods offer escape, control, comfort, or relief, but they leave the soul more restless than before. The adversary uses these substitutes because they distract from the God who truly knows and loves his children. A restless heart finds no lasting home until it finds rest in God. [22:32]
5. Hope means waiting with confidence [24:59] Biblical hope does not demand immediate resolution. God gives new mercy for new challenges, including challenges that have not yet arrived. Christ’s resurrection guarantees that waiting is not empty, because sin, death, pain, and suffering will not have the final word.

## [24:59]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:55] - Psalm 131 and the Condition of the Soul
[03:30] - Created for Rest, Not Restlessness
[04:34] - God Is Good
[07:29] - Humility and the Limits of Human Understanding
[12:19] - The Weaned Child at Rest
[13:18] - Choosing to Calm and Quiet the Soul
[16:43] - Resting in God’s Bountiful Love
[22:32] - Counterfeit Gods Cannot Give Rest
[24:01] - Hope in the Lord and Wait Confidently
[28:09] - Forever Hope Through Jesus Christ
[31:26] - Rest Even When Circumstances Do Not Change
[35:00] - Return to Your Rest

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 131:1-3

“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.” [01:09] [01:39]

Exodus 34:6-7

“The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.’” [05:47]

Isaiah 49:15-16

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” [20:10]

Psalm 116:7

“Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” [17:55] [36:29]

Observation questions

In Psalm 131, what three attitudes or actions does David describe before he speaks of a calmed and quieted soul?
What qualities of God are named in Exodus 34:6-7, and how do mercy, forgiveness, faithfulness, and justice appear together in this description? [06:28]
What does the image of a “weaned child with its mother” communicate that the image of a hungry infant would not communicate? [15:30]
According to Isaiah 49:15-16, what images does God use to show that he has not forgotten his people? [20:47]

Interpretation questions

Why does humility—admitting that people cannot see or control everything—help bring rest to a troubled soul? What burdens might someone carry because they are acting as though everything depends on them? [10:52]
Psalm 131 says, “I have calmed and quieted my soul.” How does this show that resting in God is more than waiting for a peaceful feeling to arrive? [13:23]
What does it mean for a believer to rest in God himself rather than mainly resting in the gifts or outcomes they hope God will provide? [16:34]
Psalm 131 ends by calling God’s people to hope in the Lord “from this time forth and forevermore.” Why does biblical hope include waiting, and what makes that waiting confident rather than hopeless? [24:49]

Application questions

What is the present condition of your soul: calm, hurried, fearful, exhausted, distracted, or something else? What circumstances are most shaping that condition right now? [02:43]
Where are you most tempted to demand an explanation from God, control an outcome, or carry a burden that belongs to him? What would humility look like in that specific situation this week? [11:54]
God’s character is the starting point for quietness of soul. Which truth from Exodus 34—God’s mercy, grace, patience, steadfast love, faithfulness, forgiveness, or justice—do you most need to remember right now, and why? [07:05]
What “counterfeit god” most often promises you relief or rest—comfort, money, success, control, entertainment, a relationship, substances, or something else? How has that substitute left you more restless instead of truly rested? [22:32]
A weaned child rests because trust has grown through repeated care. What are a few specific ways God has dealt bountifully with you—through daily provision, forgiveness, people, protection, adoption into his family, or the gift of Christ? [17:23]
Is there an area where you are waiting for change, healing, direction, reconciliation, or relief? What would it look like to hope in the Lord today without pretending that the waiting is easy? [27:22]
When anxiety about tomorrow begins to speak loudly, what truth about Christ’s death, resurrection, and continuing care can you deliberately speak back to your soul? [29:12]

Sermon Clips

56s

#HopeInGod

“And you can have confident hope, hope in your waiting. Waiting for a day that's coming when sin will be no more, death will be no more, pain will be no more, suffering will be no more, addiction will be no more. And God has promised that he will take every tear and he will wipe away every tear and bring an end and allow us to live with him in glorious hope face to face like it was supposed to be in the garden. Walking with him, knowing him in person. One day he's gonna take all of our anxious, restless hearts and he's gonna wipe every tear from our eyes. And he'll bring us into complete rest with him.”

54s

#GrowInFaith

“This picture of a weaned child is a call for you and I to grow up in our faith, to stop acting like babies. Babies who don't realize who God is. We're in his arms after all. We need to stop clamoring for what we want and start being secure with who we are with. We need to be start resting in him as a child of God and to not let the complexity and profundity of God scare us away from him. He's with you. Colossians tells us, Colossians tells us that with him all things hold together. In him, all things hold together. And he's holding you.”

60s

#TrustGodsTiming

“We don't hope for something we have. We hope for something that we're waiting for. Hope implies waiting. So the call to hope is a call to be confident in waiting, which we're not very good at. I prefer resolution now. I prefer my problems to be solved now. I want things fixed now. We all want what we want now. But who hopes for what he already has? But remember, if you hope for what you want and you want everything right now, that's really kind of how a baby looks at the world, isn't it? Give me my milk. Change my diapers. Right? But a weaned child a weaned child is confident to wait because the weaned child of God knows that God will take care of you today. He's promised to.”

53s

#HumilityOverAnxiety

“And today, we have at our fingertips on the Internet the opportunity to explore any given number of tragedies or problems in the world that are global, where they used to be just local. Now they're we we have the opportunity to see things on a global scale. More problems than we have time for. And God's word is saying that if we wanna be free from anxiety, if we want to be free from anxiety, it will necessitate humility. It will necessitate constantly reminding ourselves that God is good and that we are not God. And both of those realities will lead us to rest.”

74s

#RestInGod

“It certainly means refusing to seek rest in counterfeit gods. Again, there's an adversary doing his best to convince us, some, and some of you, that where your restless soul needs is a substitute, something that takes you away from reality. Stimulants, depressants, illicit relationships or entertainment. Right? We can start believing that we need more possessions or more money or more power or better position. If we could just have this or that, then we would have more rest. Of course, it's a lie, and the adversary knows it. And that's why he's pummeling with us with it for forever all the time. The adversary knows all these counterfeit gods are empty, and they will only lead you to more restlessness and ultimately to your ruin. That's his design for your life. So don't take the bait.”

52s

#JesusSaves

“Because the Lord who's compassionate and loves us slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. Our faithful God whose lordship covers everything has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ. He has died for our sins and our iniquities and our transgressions. And he rose from the dead, and he is sitting at the right hand of the father interceding on our behalf. He paid for our price of our inequities and our transgressions, our sin. He's defeated death, and he lives forever. And anyone, anywhere who turns from their sins and trusts in Jesus will be saved and live forever with him, forever with him.”

38s

#GodSeesYou

“And God is saying, hear this. Let this soak in. This is wonderful. God's saying, you're always on my mind. I'm thinking about you all the time. I see you. I know you. I'm committed to you. I love you. I'm providing for you. I see a million things that you don't see. So choose. Choose to rest in who God is. Choose to rest in in who he is and how much he loves you.”

54s

#HopeInTheLord

“Now the first words of verse three, oh Israel, hope in the Lord, in Yahweh. Hope in Yahweh. Don't hope in your government, your celebrity, your sports hero. Don't hope in your circumstances changing. Don't put your hope there. Put your hope in Yahweh. Put your hope in Yahweh, in the Lord. And this word for hope is sometimes translated as wait. In Psalm 34, thirty one twenty four, David says, be strong and let your heart take courage all you who wait for the Lord. It's the same word translated hope in our passage today.”

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