Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Do you ever wonder what makes God happy? I don't know about you, but I want to please God, and I want God to delight in me. In our text today, the psalmist says, "The Lord's delight is in those who fear Him." If we want to make God happy, if we want God to delight in us, we need to fear the Lord. The Bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If I want wisdom, it starts with fearing God.
Fearing God Means Valuing His Word
If we're going to fear God, we have to understand God's Word has to have the final say in our lives. If I'm going to fear God, I'm going to value the Word of God above all else. Even when culture is constantly shifting, my life needs to be built on the Word of God, and there will always be an attack on God's Word.
Since Genesis chapter 3 in the creation story, the serpent said, "Did God really say?" To this day that same attack is on God's people. Because as a people of God, we value this Word. It is not a truth. It is the truth. The enemy wants us to question the goodness of God. Why would you believe this outdated book with so many commands that make your life worse? They're so burdensome, says the enemy. This attack will never end because as believers, we build our lives on the Word of God.
Approaching God with Reverence
Another way that we fear God is when we approach God, there's a reverence in how we approach Him. Yes, God's our friend. But He's also King. He's Judge. He's the one that parted the Red Sea. He opened blind eyes. He raises the dead. That's the kind of God that we're approaching. He spoke and things came into being. That's the kind of God that we pray to—a God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly all that we can ask or think or imagine.
If we're going to fear God, there's going to be awe and reverence and an understanding of how big and majestic God is, but we're not going to run away from Him. That's not what it means to fear. In all of that, we actually draw near to God. Why? Because when we draw near, He meets us with grace. Lamentations chapter 3, verses 22 and 23 tell us that His mercies are new every morning. We keep running to the Lord. Why? Because His grace is available to us. Yes, God is big and yes, we fear Him. We value His Word, but we don't run away from Him because He always meets us with grace.
Hope in His Unfailing Love
Then our verse says this: "Those who put their hope in His unfailing love." In the Bible, the hope it talks about—it's not this wishy washy, I hope it rains tomorrow type of hope. It is a confident expectation that God will do what He said. In our text today, it says those who put their hope in what? In His unfailing love.
God's love for us is unfailing, and it doesn't fluctuate based on how good we are. It is steadfast and it is consistent. That's important for us to understand, because when people fail us, God will never fail us. I don't know where you're at today, but I want you to understand this. Your hope needs to be in God's unfailing love.
Maybe you feel like you're too far gone, or you've out-sinned God's grace and you're like, I don't even know if God wants to hear from me. I keep bringing up the same thing over and over, still struggling with the same sin. Here's my encouragement to you: Draw near to God, and when you do, He will draw near to you.
