O fear the Lord, you his holy ones, for those who fear him have no want. The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. ~ Psalm 34:9-14
Those who fear the Lord have no want. Well, when you put it that way, I'm not so sure about it. I mean, I want plenty. What about you?
And then there's this idea of "fearing" the Lord! What? Fear? Should be be scared of God and if we are then good things will happen to us?
That makes God sounds like a benevolent Freddy Krueger!
But when I remember that "fear of the Lord" often translates to "Awe of the Lord," the muddied picture begins to clear.
When I am in awe of something, I tend to find myself in a good place. It is difficult to be caught in an awestruck moment and not feel overwhelmed by something that might be defined as joy.
I remember the first time I went on Safari in the Serengeti. I can honestly say that that first moment of seeing it stretched out before me was one of the most awe inspiring moments of my life.
And the later...when I got to see young lions at play...Wow!
And when that happened, there were things in my life that probably weren't always great. There were hard things that I was dealing with: stresses and sorrows.
But then there was this awe - awe for a God who could create such beauty, and in that moment, there was nothing else I wanted than to bask in God's majesty.
God of Majesty, you are indeed an awesome God! Thank you for the gifts of your creation! Amen
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