Safe And Secure From All Alarms - The One Year Praying the Promises of God

Fear of the LORD leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm.

Proverbs 19:23

To fear the Lord means to be in awe of him. It means to reverence him, to respect him. When we have this right view of God, we live life as we are meant to. With the majesty and power of God as our reference point, we have a proper perspective. When we measure life’s circumstances against the sovereignty of God, things don’t get blown out of proportion.

When we do not revere God, life becomes a burden. One worry piles on another, problem on problem, disappointment following disappointment. Of course, no one gets to live problem free. No one escapes heartache. But if we live with ourselves as the reference point, life’s difficulties will be overwhelming. We might put up a good front, but we’ll be worn down inch by inch. If we try to shoulder life’s problems, they will outweigh the good things we experience because difficulties simply keep coming.

Living with a right view of God is the only way to live a life that is more than just existing. A life bigger than just making it through. God means for life to be abundant, joyful, overflowing. He means for life to be a celebration and a gift. He promises that fear of the Lord will lead to that kind of life. He doesn’t promise that harm or difficulties will never come but that when they come, they will be stepping stones, not stumbling blocks. Troubling though they may be, they will not cause us real harm.

What is your view of God? Do you meditate daily on his majesty and power? Is he your first thought when you awake and your last thought before you sleep? Do you let every problem and challenge be swallowed up in the reality of his presence? If you learn to live with him as your reference point, you will find peace in any circumstance. If you do not, nothing can ever bring lasting peace and security.

Father, I fix my eyes on you. When my vision wanders, call me back.

If we have not quiet in our minds, outward comfort will do no more for us than a golden slipper on a gouty foot.

John Bunyan(1628–1688), English writer and preacher