Oct 1st, 2020: Our Fear and Our Hope

 Hope and Fear. Hope is the thing with feathers. | by Saanya Khunger | Be Unique | Medium

 

Some of us can remember the days our sons and daughters learned how to ride their bikes for the first time. As parents, we cheered them on. As life continues, we celebrate their school graduations, their first jobs, and their marriages. Our hearts are delighted.


Sometimes we forget that God is also cheering us on as we learn how to live for Him. Let us look at Psalm 147: 11 and discover how God delights in us:

"But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love."


Taking pleasure in those who fear him: What does it mean to fear God? Sometimes I wonder whether we are more afraid of Covid-19 than we fear God. Our ways of life shut down. Our priorities changed. We pay more attention to what we do, where we go, who we are with, and how we spend our time. We try to keep in touch with our loved ones more than usual time. So let us imagine that we apply the same approach in our fear for God. Would we shut down the old way of life and embrace the new one in living for Him? Have our priorities toward money, fame, power, and relationships changed? Do we pay more attention to what we do to one another? Have we asked ourselves why we want to be where we are in life? How is our time with God, and do we miss our time with Him? Do we have the desire to keep in touch with God? Set a specific time to be with Him?


Our fear is our hope in God's steadfast love: His love is not temperamental and unpredictable. His faithfulness is part of His steadfast love, and it is an enduring love. The same endurance to take Jesus through the journey of the Cross. Jesus is the embodiment of that steadfast love as He takes on the punishment of our wrongdoing against God. God's steadfast love is ever-present in the deep darkness of our human soul. He is there in the depth of our sorrow, and He is there when we jump for joy as we celebrate our freedom. His steadfast love, He grants us life and preserves our spirit.


He delights in us because His love has no limit. He delights in us because He understands our suffering and fearfulness.

 

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