Scripture: Psalm 34 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
Devotion: I saw an article titled, “Let fear deliver you from your fear.” How exactly does that work? And what sort of mental gymnastics is the author doing? But our Psalm for today brings up this exact point. It may seem ironic that in Psalm 34, it says both that, “He [the Lord] delivered me from all my fears” and “Fear the Lord.” If you grew up in church, the idea of fearing the Lord likely isn’t a new one. But it might still be a confusing one.
We know that looking to our Father and our faith casts out our fear. He is bigger than our worries. We can hide in the shadow of His wing (Psalm 17:8) and find protection. So how does fearing the Lord, the thing that we are told to do, differ from fearing the things of this world? From continually worrying about them? Here is how Marshall Segel describes the fear of the Lord, “The fear of God is a heart-level embrace of the intensity of his holy and sovereign authority over all. It is an admission that God is worthy of our admiration, devotion, reverence, and awe — but it is far more than an admission. It is a face-to-the-ground, trembling-in-the-soul, all-of-life submission to that God — a heart that senses how small, sinful, and undeserving we are next to him, and yet still dares, in Christ, to draw near to him. Those who fear God have received his grace and mercy without diminishing or marginalizing all that makes him terrifying to sinners.”
We recognize that God is just. He is holy. There is a punishment for our sin. In fact, without God’s grace, the very things that we fear and worry about in this world are much scarier. But when we fear the Lord, when we know about His grace and that we are able to draw near to Him because of the finished work of Jesus on the cross, the very things that we previously feared in this life just magnify the gift of grace and mercy.
We can trust that God has triumphed over all, and that He is bigger than all of our anxious thoughts and worries. He can deliver us from these things. A true fear of the Lord creates a desire to walk in His ways and run away from the things of this world. Fear of the Lord puts into perspective how miniscule the things we typically fear are. Let fear deliver you from your fears. Trust that His grace and mercy through Jesus are greater than worry or fear in this life.
Reflect:
- What has your understanding of fearing the Lord been?
- What do you think it looks like to have a healthy and helpful fear of the Lord in your life?
