Nov 27, 2024 When Fear and Hope are Friends – Words of Grace Blog – November 27, 2024
“The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.”
Psalm 147:10
Fear and hope are friends when they reside in the heart of one whose eyes have seen the glory and grace of the Lord.
Psalm 147 is a great Thanksgiving psalm for you this weekend. It is a psalm of praise to God for his glory and grace. It calls us to sing to him with thanksgiving.
The glory of God is seen in his complete independence and in the perfection of his ways. The Lord stands above his creation. He determines the number of the stars and names them. He sends the rain and makes the grass grow. His power and understanding are beyond measure. He does not need nor delight in the strength of animals or humans as the means to his ends. Great is the Lord!
This psalm also praises God for his grace. The Holy One heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He lifts the humble’s head and keeps his word to his people. He feeds both man and beast. Steadfast love belongs to him. Gracious is the Lord!
What is the impact on our hearts when our eyes come to see the glory and grace of God?
Fear of the Lord and hope in his love reside within us as friends, encouraging each other and adding to each one’s strength. To fear the Lord is to be in awe of his glory, yet aware of his grace. The One who needs no other takes notice and helps the lowly. Hope in the Lord feeds on the same truth. The Lord promises his love and needs no help to deliver.
Charles Spurgeon (19th-century preacher in London) said the marks of the new birth in a person are fear and hope; they fear God with awe and reverence, and they hope for forgiveness and blessing because of his mercy. Fear and hope are the spiritual qualities in which God delights.
Do you want to fear the Lord? Meditate on the holiness and glory of the God in Christ this weekend. Ask the Lord to arouse your mind and move your spirit to the proper fear of him, the kind of fear that is not afraid to approach and remain before him in worship and submission because you know Christ has made the way through the cross for you to be there.
Do you need hope? This weekend, turn to the Lord and trust him. See the Son whom God did not spare as your Savior. Hear his promise to help the humble. Ask the Lord to stir up and then settle down your heart by the assurance of his steadfast love.
Let the fear of the Lord and hope in his love be constant companions in your mind and heart in Christ, and give thanks. The Lord will be pleased.
-Scott