The Eyes of a Maidservant
by Sharon W. Betters
Today’s Treasure
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till He has mercy upon us.
Psalm 123:2
In the years after the deaths of our son Mark and his friend Kelly, I was ever on alert for messages, i.e. treasures, sent by God to remind me that He is the Lord my God and He calls me by name (Isaiah 45:2, 3). Often, those treasures came through the Scriptures. Sometimes I wished I could hook up a Biblical IV so that the medicine of Bible verses could constantly wash my soul and cleanse my heart of sorrow, fear, doubts, and anger. Long into the grief journey, Today’s Treasure caught my eye:
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till He has mercy upon us.
Psalm 123:2
I interpreted this verse two ways. One, I imagined a maidservant, quietly serving her mistress, knowing what her mistress needed and proactively meeting her expectations. The second perspective is a picture of a submitted maidservant beloved by her mistress, serving obediently and waiting expectantly for her kind mistress to meet her needs. A servant’s core task is to submit to the demands of the master or mistress. In a fair world, the responsibility of the master or mistress is to take care of their servant in a way that enables them to fulfill their responsibilities.
We know this has not been and is not always the case. Slave owners abused and continue to abuse their slaves in ways almost too horrific to imagine. The abuse starts with slavery itself. If we imagine the master or mistress as an employer, some take advantage of their employees, refusing to pay a fair wage or keep a safe workplace. Not so in this passage. This maidservant not only serves her mistress, but trusts her mistress to care for her. She surrenders to the care of her mistress. She “waits” on her mistress similar to a good waitress in a restaurant. She “waits” on her mistress to generously care for her, similar to the tip that waitress hopes her customers will add to the bill. She expects her mistress to care for her, probably based on previous experience.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
David declares: For God alone my soul waits in silence.
David has come to the end of himself. He rejects the idea of God plus one equals a majority. Experiences and his personal relationship to God lead him to embrace this truth: God plus nothing equals everything. David surrenders to God’s perfect care.
This picture of submission comforted me in my deep grief. The maidservant reminded me of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who responded to the angel’s announcement that she would give birth to God’s son, though she did not “know a man”. Her declaration, “I am the Lord’s maidservant. May it be to me as you have said,” reminded me that I have the same choice. Did the words of Psalm 123:2 encourage her to surrender to God’s purposes? The medicine of Scripture worked slowly, but eventually helped me hear the Lord’s call to surrender through scriptures like these.
Just as David’s grief over the betrayal of his son Absalom threatened to destroy him, my grief threatened to destroy me. David came to the end of himself. I was at the end of myself. I felt the Lord whispering in my ear, “Sharon, surrender to my care. You can trust me to meet every need of your broken heart. Wait on me.”
God is calling you to trust Him, to tell your soul to wait in silence for God only. Will you?
Sharon W. Betters is author of Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness and co-author of Treasures of Faith. She is Director of Resource Development and co-founder of MARKINC.org, a non profit organization that offers help and hope to hurting people. Sharon enjoys quality time with her husband, children, fourteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
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Contact Sharon with comments or questions at dailytreasure@markinc.org.