Fearfully Content

“O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.” (Ps 34:9 AV)

The word want is often used in the word of God to mean need.  The implication here is those who fear God will not suffer need because God will care for them.  He will care for them as they obey His word.  The principles of blessing associated with obedience are universal.  If we follow the book of Proverbs, our needs will be met.  But more so than that, as we saw yesterday, those who trust in the mercy of the LORD shall see it.  This statement of David is an incredible one.  Respect and honor towards God guarantees His watchful eye over our journey of life.  I can testify to this in many ways, but recent events come to mind.

My mechanic was after me because the tires on our car were not the best.  I was having to inflate one of them every three days.  It would not hold air.  We made the appointment and then tried to figure out how we were going to pay for it.  We arrange to do so in a less-than-optimal way.  But that Sunday, the LORD provided the funds through the generosity of the saints.  The generous gift covered almost the entire amount.  What a blessing!  Then, we planned a trip back east.  Lisa has stage four intestinal cancer.  This means she cannot stray too far from a bathroom.  A one-day trip turns into a two-and-a-half-day trip.  We booked tickets on the train but someone generously provided flights.  These were genuine needs we had and the LORD provided them.  We did not expect these things to happen the way they did, but we did pray about them.  God honored those prayers, in part, because we relied on Him and trusted Him to do for us what we needed even if it was what we had already planned.  God is good to those who love Him and seek to honor Him.

We may not always succeed.  In fact, we fail far more than we are comfortable with.  We fall into wickedness.  We fail to trust Him as we should.  Even though the LORD demands perfection, He is gracious to understand we are failable.  He may desire perfect holiness, but He knows as long as we live in this flesh, we will struggle with it.  Despite our nature and resultant choices, He loves us and cares for us far more than we realize.  If we are satisfied with His presence, our wants and needs drastically reduce.  If we are content in the compassionate and wise presence of our Creator, there isn’t much we need.  God sees to this.  All we need to do is trust Him and honor Him.  That’s all.  Just trust and obey.  There is no other way; to be happy in Jesus; than to trust and obey.