My older daughter has a strong affinity for scary movies. This fascination may have started early in childhood as she and her grandpa used to sit and watch medical documentary programs on The Learning Channel for hours on end! The rest of the family would nearly be yackin' up dinner, but she was right in there watching the surgeons slice and dice their way into someone's eventual recovery. Now for her, the scarier the movie, the better.
Her younger sister on the other hand can often be found head under blanket or in another room completely when the scary movie has barely begun. As a famously popular TV show would suggest, "apparently fear isn't a factor" for one and not the other.
Spending time in Psalm 18 this week, I've grown to appreciate David's love for the Fearful. He begins this Psalm benignly enough expressing his love for the Lord...
"I love you, Lord, my strength."
David continues on for a few verses expressing how the Lord is strength, deliverance, refuge, protection and salvation. He relates occasions in his life when he was in deep distress and the Lord was his provider and help in times of trouble. And then the Psalm takes an interesting twist...
"The earth trembled and quaked,
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him --
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning."
and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him --
the dark rain clouds of the sky.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning."
Quite the scene, isn't it? Like the opening of a really good scary movie. One kid would be on the edge of her seat, the other under a blanket!David appears to be like the one on the edge of her seat. He's taking in the scene and can't get enough of it!
I think the reason many people don't pursue a deeper relationship with God is because they have an unhealthy fear of God. They've never spent enough time in His presence to really appreciate His infinite power, might and majesty. Power enough to destroy even the greatest of us? Of course! But isn't that the point? He doesn't destroy us because while He is all those "scary" things, He is also grace, mercy and love.
Consequently, the awesome relentless power of God becomes a refuge and a strength for those who really know Him. Maybe there is something to spending a little time every day in "fear" before the Lord? Maybe it will transform how you know Him?
What do you think?
I think the reason many people don't pursue a deeper relationship with God is because they have an unhealthy fear of God. They've never spent enough time in His presence to really appreciate His infinite power, might and majesty. Power enough to destroy even the greatest of us? Of course! But isn't that the point? He doesn't destroy us because while He is all those "scary" things, He is also grace, mercy and love.
Consequently, the awesome relentless power of God becomes a refuge and a strength for those who really know Him. Maybe there is something to spending a little time every day in "fear" before the Lord? Maybe it will transform how you know Him?
What do you think?
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