I recently did a series on having a quiet time that mostly discussed the mechanics of how they can be done. Well, this morning I had a wonderful devotional time with the Lord. I normally start my quiet time with a good ole fashioned cup of coffee – Folders Columbian to be exact.
I spend a few moments being still and preparing my heart for what God has for me. I then take out my journal and write “Thoughts:” and begin to just write about the day prior and whatever might be on my heart. Some days there is very little and others, like today, there is much.
I then began my reading routine and list in my journal “Bible:” and start with either Proverbs or the Psalms. Today U began from the book of Psalm chapter 42. The first verse immediately reached out and grabbed me so I began to write that verse down in my journal and normally as I do that is when God really begins to speak. Well the verse says, “As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.” Now I know that this is a very familiar verse, however, I have been in a time of fasting and prayer and this was a huge affirmation from the Word of God that this is what I needed to be doing. I began to meditate on this verse for some time. The verse describes the incredible thirst and desire that “a deer” would have after being chased and literally running for his life. And how there is always an incredible thirst that there after not only extreme physical exertion but that is heightened by the fear and adrenaline that would be pumping through its body.
The words fear and exertion and love began to roll around in my mind. I thought about how fear always heightens your attention to detail and focus. In my former job as a Special Forces guy, we would always be doing something in the realm that would cause great fear. Whether that was jumping out of airplanes, close quarter combat, etc., it always heightened our senses and made our focus intense on the task at hand. Well the same is true with our God – “the fear of the Lord.” What does it mean to fear God? Does it mean to fear him as we would a poisonous snake? We know that it doesn’t, but we’re really not sure why.
The words the Bible uses mean literally “to fear.” Translators try alternatives, words like awe, respect, reverence, but none quite captures the raw strength of the word fear. The key to what the Bible means lies, I think, in what happens to our consciousness when we fear something. As I said earlier, when we were doing some pretty fearful things in Special Forces it marvelously focused our minds. The idea is that the experience of being brought right up to the point of possible death, and then coming through it, brings intense focus. That’s the key: What we fear marvelously focuses us. The fear of God is respect and awe and reverence. But it is these things, to a degree, that are like terror in their intensity.
Therefore, the Bible sees no conflict between fearing God and loving and trusting him. There’s that other word we’ll get to in another post. Astoundingly, when Jesus wants to calm our fears, he tells us to first do what? – fear God!
Luke 12:4-5: “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”
That is God he is talking about, the one who can throw us into hell, and the one we are to address in prayer as Abba, Daddy. Here again is that combination of fear and love. Then, without even a break or change in thought, he says we should relax: “ ‘even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.’ ” (v. 7). His message: You are worth everything to the One who is to be feared. Fear God and you’ll fear nothing else!
Later, in the same chapter, Jesus utters some of my f”avorite words: Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32).
The bottom line is what one most deeply loves, one most deeply fears. In example would be the love that you have for your wife or husband. At its best, my love for my wife is like terror in its intensity. I often tell her that I fear her more than anybody on earth. What it is most and should be the same toward our awesome God is the fear I have of hurting her! Her worth to me is staggering in its weight.
The combination of great, overwhelming strength and power with tender love is as hard for us to sometimes hold together. Addressing God as Father can become electrifying, if we can put these two together in our minds – combining infinite love and tenderness with infinite holiness and power. It can become the source of our greatest seriousness and our deepest joy, that one of such might can be called Father, and that our Father can be one with such might! Fear and love go together.
Can you see how fear and love coupled together could bring about an incredible thirst, desire and focus? This all creates an intense exertion to know God and to realize that like the hunter He is pursuing us. He wants communion with us. He calls us to prayer!
No character in the Bible found anything approaching a face-to-face encounter with God anything less than shattering. We must learn to act and think as people who are amazed that our proximity to holy things has not left us vaporized. We must pray that God will cultivate in our spirits fresh awareness of his majesty and goodness, and that we not confuse his goodness with his being safe. Along with our Bibles, we should be ready to put on a crash helmet when we come to worship.
What no delight in life can pass on is what is given in prayer. It is the pleasure of his company.
How's your devotional life? Have you heard from God lately? That was just the start of a great devotion I had today. When I turned to Proverbs 25 I began to read about how to purify silver. Whew! You see I got some impurities that need to go. I asked God to turn up the heat as high as it needs to go until the reflection of Jesus is seen in me. That's a lot of heat!
Bibliography:
Ben Patterson and David L. Goetz, vol. 7, Deepening Your Conversation With God, The pastor's soul series; Library of leadership development (Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany House Publishers, 1999), 75-76.
