Psalm 34:9

O fear the Lord, you His saints; for to those who fear Him there is no want.

In this psalm, David has escaped from King Achish by pretending to be crazy. His song here tells us that God pays attention to those who call on Him. Whether God offers escape from trouble or help in times of trouble, we can be certain that He always hears and acts on behalf of those who love Him.

Thoughts for the day...
The word "fear," as used throughout the Bible, means love, respect, and obedience. So whenever it says to fear God, it means we should show complete love and respect, and to obey Him with everything we've got. As a believer who understands this meaning, I certainly do fear God. But I've always had a problem with this with regard to speaking to non-believers about God's love for them.

Fear, to the general populace, does not mean love and obedience. Fear means that someone is robbing you; fear means that your family is in danger; fear means that you're about to get beat up on the playground. So when someone who doesn't "speak the language," hears something about fearing God, it doesn't mesh with the loving God I'm trying to tell them about. If He's so loving and kind, why do I need to be scared of him? I think too many Christians misunderstand the meaning of fear, as it's used in the Bible when speaking of God. (The fire and brimstone sermons come to mind.) Rather than teaching people what it means to fear God--to show Him our complete love, devotion, respect, and total obedience to His word--they rely on our present-day understanding of fear to make people afraid of God. Why would anyone want to worship a God whom you're scared of?

God isn't the boogeyman; He isn't a monster under the bed; He isn't a schoolyard bully. He's not someone to be scared of. He loves us, and He's given everything for us. Therefore, why wouldn't we love Him, obey Him, and respect Him above all else? This is the message we, as Christians, should be sending to others when we say to fear God.

My Prayer
Heavenly Father, I do fear you. That is, I love You, I respect You, and I'm trying my best to obey Your commands. I pray that I am strong enough to speak up when people talk about fearing you, and that I share with them what this means. I don't want others, especially non-believers, to be scared of you. I want them to revere You for all that You are, and love You because You first loved them. Thank you for your continued blessings, God, and I continue to ask for Your blessings upon me and my loved ones.