The Lord favors those who fear and worship Him [with awe-inspired reverence and obedience], Those who wait for His mercy and lovingkindness. Psalms 147:11 AMP
Context and Charge:
Every door has a key; there are physical as well as spiritual laws and principles that govern access. You have to know the person who has the key, or know someone who knows someone who has the key, or you have the key yourself. As you read the bible, you see stories of men and women who understood this principle and lived by it, and the amazing blessings that flowed to their lives as a result. The writer of this psalm also understood and must have lived by this principle, otherwise, these words would not be written this way. A man's personal experience is the loudest testimony of the dealings of God upon that man's life. Here, we see a major key to access to all that God is and gives, and it is called the 'fear of God.' The world presents fear as a bad thing, but this is one instance where fear is actually a good thing. It keeps me away from all that God hates, and keeps me focused on how I can please God.
What could be more important than the fear of God? When God knows I fear Him, He knows he holds my undivided attention. He knows that whatever He instructs me to do will get done, because I know his power, and understand the impact and import of his backing and support. And where there is this healthy fear, the true worship of God is not far off. in fact, as far as this writer is concerned, fear and worship of God are the same sides of a coin. When you see the display of the God who calls himself 'the Strength of Israel', you know there is no other expected response, except praise and worship. What you get when you fear God is God's endowment of his person and nature, seen as favour. When you have experienced it, you will do anything to retain and repeat it. If you have never experienced it, the fact that you are alive means you can get it.
Conviction and Conclusion:
One day of God's favour can erase twenty years of labour. Ask Joseph, who slept one night under the guard of the jailer, and the next night, was ruler over all of Egypt, including the jailer and Potiphar's whole family. Ask Moses, a man who the bible records as being unique: a man who God spoke with face to face. Never be in a hurry to prove anything to God; God is capable of defending himself. It is a privilege for me to experience his mercy and lovingkindness. Do not hurry to seek to lay down God's law by force on men; fear of God is a choice that all men must make of their freewill, because men would have to live with the eternal consequence of that decision. Waiting means trusting. It means I know I cannot help myself. I am in God's hands, and I trust him to work out that which concerns me to his glory. That is just but a glimpse into what I stand to gain when I have the right kind of fear. God's time of favour is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment