Psalm 116:1-9
Simplicity Is a Virtue

I love the LORD, because He has heard
       My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
       Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

The pains of death surrounded me,
       And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me;
       I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the LORD:
       "O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!"

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
       Yes, our God is merciful.
The LORD preserves the simple;
       I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
       For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.

For You have delivered my soul from death,
       My eyes from tears,
       And my feet from falling.
I will walk before the LORD
       In the land of the living.

New King James Version

Why is it that we so often hear of people like this psalm's writer who must hit "rock bottom" in their lives before God can rescue them? Some of us know what "rock bottom" means because we remember such a time in our past. We recall the panicked feeling of not knowing what to do next, trapped with no options and no way out. However, we usually consider those desperate experiences as bad memories to be avoided, and we regard similar stories of others as mindful warnings of the consequences that can come to those who are not righteous, or cautious, or smart.

What we miss is the virtue in having no options. The power that takes us out of a "rock bottom" situation comes when we trust totally in God to save us in whatever way God chooses. So long as we think we have options, we are tempted to use those options to influence and direct our "rescue", and instead, we fall deeper into our problem. The right lesson we need to learn from a "rock bottom" experience is how to surrender to God, and maybe, to surrender before things get quite so bad!

The psalmist uses the term "simple" or "naive" to describe this virtue, and the term had the same negative connotations then as it does today. We don't want to be naive--we want to be smart and clever! It often takes being "brought low" like the psalmist describes before we are willing to set aside our shrewdness and simply accept what God knows is best.

To state this contradiction more clearly, we are wisest when we are simple and naive before God. We are wise only when we are eager to accept without reservation whatever way God leads us. Being naive means comprehending that God's leading will appear mysterious, unpredictable, and especially uncontrollable. Being naive means that we have to give up our ideas of what God "should" want in our lives. When we're at "rock bottom", we're ready to admit that we don't know what is best for us, but once we've recovered, we don't like to concede that we are incapable of managing our destiny. Being naive means embracing with a foolish joy that God's holy knowledge will often appear as a contradiction to our human perspectives.

The psalmist also tells us that this simplicity gives rest to our souls. Trying to control our lives and direct our destiny is impossibly hard work, filled with anxiety, dread, and doubt. Giving up and letting God set our path and take charge of our future fills us with peace, joy, and rest, even when our circumstances are painful and difficult.

That feeling of peace is the best indication I have that I am following God in simplicity and faith. When I sense that peace is absent from my soul, I need to examine my spiritual condition and see what I have done to deviate from that simplicity. I need to examine whether I am choosing what is best out of my own intelligence, whether I am pulling back from God responsibilities for areas of my life, and if I am limiting and controlling what I will accept from God and, in the process, creating a substitute god more to my liking. It is so easy for me to strive to be astute in worldly ways and, in doing so, disconnect from the simplicity that openly embraces God's Wisdom.