January 29th
1 Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. 2When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. 3Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants all around your table. Psalm 128:1-3 NKJV
Two important aspects of living for God include fearing him and walking in his ways. The Amplified Bible offers insight on the meaning of this kind of fear: “fears, reveres and worships.” Additionally Webster’s dictionary defines fear as “to have a reverential awe of.” These definitions help us see that healthy fear of God is a reverential, respectful fear. It involves moving into the realization and recognition for who God is and how awesome he really is. I believe God will help us discover his identity and amazing qualities as we seek him each day and worship him.
One of the dangers we have to be vigilant against is the tendency for us to grow callous to the evidence all around us of our Creator and his amazing qualities. It’s too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day details of our lives and forget about God.
By setting aside a quiet time each day to meet with God for prayer, scripture study and worship, we can give ourselves a spiritual attitude adjustment such that we keep our eyes and thoughts trained on God and not on our mundane circumstances. With God on our mind, we’ll be better able to resist the temptations that come our way and make God-pleasing decisions.
God promises us tremendous benefits when we live for him. The psalmist declares that satisfaction with work, happiness in life and the gift of life all stem from fearing the Lord and walking in His ways. Also, when we fear the Lord and walk in his ways, we can receive sexual healing. Infertility and other sex problems in marriage are often linked to previous sexual sin, abuse, addiction, etc., which interfere with the couple’s ability to experience true intimacy together. Turning to the Lord in reverential awe and walking in his ways will start the healing process.
Questions for further thought:
What are some definitions of “blessed”?
What does it mean to walk in God’s ways?
What are some things that weaken your reverential fear of the Lord?
Prayer:
“Heavenly Father, I praise you for creating me. Thank you for loving me so much that you sent your Son Jesus to die for my sins. Please forgive me for my sin of familiarity and/or growing callous to you and the evidence of you all around me. Please help me discover (or re-discover) your awesome qualities, your ways and your glory. Please unite my heart to fear you and to walk in your ways. Thank you for the many blessings that will follow as a result! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
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