When Jesus Rights the Ship
Summary and Discussion Questions
Based on a sermon by Pastor Jeff Hardy
Sunday, August 30, 2026 | Christ Hills Church in Monroe, NC
Psalm 131
Psalm 131 is short, but it carries a profound message for anyone paying attention, What about tomorrow? What about the things I cannot control? What about the needs I cannot predict, the circumstances I cannot change, and the future I cannot see?
The psalmist begins with humility: “My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty.” He has learned an important lesson: I don’t know as much as I think I know.
That can be difficult for us to admit.
We wish we had more control over too many things. We want to know what’s coming. We want to understand why something is happening. We want to have the plan figured out before we take the next step.
But Psalm 131 calls us to something different: humility, contentment, and hope.
Think about a weaned child resting with his mother. The child is no longer clamoring for what he thinks he needs. He is calm, settled, at peace. The mother and child are in harmony with one another. That is the picture God gives us for the soul of someone who has learned to trust Him. God’s presence alone can calm our spirit and make us content.
Contentment does not mean we get everything we want. Contentment means we can be calm even when we don’t get everything we desire. That distinction matters. God has already given us so much that we can say, “Lord, because I have You, I can be at peace no matter my circumstance.”
The apostle Paul learned this lesson. In Philippians 4:10–13, he says he knows how to live with plenty and how to live in want. His circumstances change, but his source of strength does not. Christ is enough.
That doesn’t mean the struggles disappear. In fact, God sometimes uses discomfort to give us what we actually need rather than what we think we want.
Personally, I experienced a significant season of uncertainty last October when I left the church I had pastored for over a decade. I didn’t know exactly what the next chapter would look like. There were plenty of questions and many reasons to wonder what tomorrow would bring. Yet 2026 has been a year of tremendous growth as I’ve learned to walk by faith.
And that has reminded me of something important: Jesus didn’t just save me so I could someday go to heaven. He wants to be involved in my life today. He wants to be present in my victories and my struggles. In my plenty and in my want. In my certainty and in my questions.
So what about tomorrow? Well…God is at work, Lord willing. And that’s where hope comes in. Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. Hope brings the next into the now. Everything God has promised is guaranteed. And if what God has promised about the future is certain, then it can—and should—change how we live today.
So we wait. And we hope. And we learn to chew on God’s Word—to marinate in it until truth moves from our head to our heart. We remind ourselves that we do not need to understand everything because we know the One who does.
I stated that knowing Christ takes the terror out of time and need. What do I mean by this? It’s the fear that tomorrow might bring something we cannot handle. But God’s presence is the solution. You see, Jesus is my living hope.
Think of a ship that is listing in harbor. When it’s out of balance, it needs to be righted. The weight needs to be redistributed so the ship can leave harbor and move ahead safely. Sometimes our lives need the same thing. We become tilted toward fear, control, worry, or our own wants. But Jesus knows exactly where He needs to sit. He knows what needs to be rebalanced. In other words, He can “right the ship” of my life.
And because I know Christ, I can face the terror of time and need because Jesus is with me, He is enough, and He is my living hope.
So today, I can say with the psalmist: My heart is humble. My soul is content. My hope is in the LORD. I may not know what tomorrow holds. But I know who holds tomorrow.
Questions for Reflection & Discussion:
What area of your life are you trying hardest to control, and what would it look like to entrust that area to Christ?
Where do you need to distinguish between something you want and something you truly need?
What truth from God’s Word do you need to “chew on” until it moves from your head to your heart and produces greater contentment and hope?