“The Lord delights in those who fear Him, those who put their hope in His unfailing love.” Psalm 147:11

I woke up one day with this verse on my heart so I dug into it.  Let’s break it apart to digest how beautiful it truly is.

“The Lord delights…”

This means He takes great pleasure in, revels in, adores, rejoices, desires and one definition even says “becomes great friends”.  I love that!  Oh to be not just a friend but a great friend of the most High!  Sign me up for that!

“…those who fear Him…”

The way the word fear is used here, and many other times throughout the Bible, is in reference to “awe, awesome, a proper attitude of awe or respect with/towards God, total allegiance with God, to be a faithful follower and worshiper.”  Trust is also a huge aspect in this healthy fear.  The Bible talks of how this fear of the Lord is a foundation of wisdom and knowledge; it leads to life, security, protection and is a life-giving fountain (um yes please!).

While the word fear in this verse isn’t defined by being afraid, it does make me think of when we are afraid and what happens to us. We normally tremble or shake, right?  Often (and so frequently in the movies!) our mouths are open and we scream, right?  Sometimes we cower down on our knees or faces, sometimes we throw our hands up in surrender.  Ok, those might be a little dramatic but I do find the similarities so interesting.  This fear we are to have of the Lord may occasionally produce some of the same bodily symptoms of being afraid (trembling, mouth open, hands up surrendered), it’s a completely different fear and so amazing.

Think about the last time you were in awe of something…maybe it was an encounter with Jesus, maybe it was a sunset, maybe you have just looked into the eyes of a baby you have been praying for…this awe, this beautiful sense of astounding amazement is how the Lord wants us to view Him.  He is enthralled with us, His creation…are we truly in awe of Him?  He desires our honor, worship, friendship and trust so we can be used for His glory…do we truly fear Him?

“…hope in His unfailing love.”

This just makes me think of Jesus and points me right back to good old John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”  The fact that Jesus is our hope and the most significant source of God’s love for us puts me in awe.  In awe of God for His soveringty, in awe of Jesus for who He was and His sacrifice for our salvation.  HE is our hope, our belief, our promise, our Savior…God’s love for us is not only on the cross but all over this earth and the people in it.  It’s in the tomb where Jesus was resurrected, in the pages of Scripture, in our souls, and abundantly in Heaven where we will see Him face to face.  Talk about awe (mouth open for sure here, right!?)!

“The Lord delights in those who fear Him, those who hope in His unfailing love.”

Today, let’s pray that we see God’s awesomeness in everything; it’s there you know, in everything.  I pray that we sense Him drawing us in, turning our faces towards His.  Look up, in awe of the one true God who loves you more than you can imagine.  Thank Him, trust Him, seek Him, love Him, delight in Him as HE delights in you. 🙂