The Fear of the Lord and the favor of the Lord are inextricable. - Day 6

100 Days with David - Day 6

“But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple. For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭5:7, 12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

For many years of his life my father was a very physically powerful man. He was one who would do questionable things like tying a refrigerator on his back and carrying it up a hill. His large hands had an iron grip; and if he grabbed hold of something, it was not likely to prevail against him. I was in awe of my father and I always felt safe if he was near. On the rare occasion that I needed correction, just one word or look from my father brought me to immediate tears; and I never needed him to lay a hand on me in discipline. On the other hand, I never was afraid that he would hurt me; I knew he would only ever do good things to/for me.

Because of my relationship with my father I am stymied when I hear pastors, teachers, and so on, minimizing the fear of the Lord and sometimes actually presenting it as something we should never have! We do not fear the Lord as someone who is at cross purposes with Him. Rather, we walk in reverential fear and awe of His mighty power, inestimably overwhelmed by His awesome presence.

In our opening passage for today we see a portion of Psalms 5. In this psalm David is contrasting himself with those who do not fear the Lord, those who are living wickedly. He talks about the great mercy of the Lord which allows him to come into His presence. But, when he goes into the presence of the Lord, he does so with great fear. The fear he has for the Lord is reverential awe, knowing the fathomless measure of His power and might. Not just here, but in other psalms, we see the connection made between the fear of the Lord and the favor of the Lord.

“The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them. Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:7, 9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Just like a wonderful father, our Lord protects, keeps, and shows favor to those who walk in fear of Him. I doubt if those who have no fear of the Lord have ever really known Him.

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

The fear of the Lord and the favor of the Lord are inextricable. #100dayswithdavid