Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 25:11-15
Ps 25:11-15
For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
Heb 12:28-29
Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.
It almost sounds like a contradiction when the Psalmist says that “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,” but it is not. Our God is an awesome God and all who are recorded as coming in direct contact with him, fell on their face out of fear. John the revelator said that when he turned and saw the one whose voice was speaking that he fell at his feet as though dead. The glory and majesty of God is awesome and invokes fear in the most drastic way!
But Jesus says that he is our friend and he is our brother. He invites us to come to him and find rest for our weary souls. He tells us to use his name when we talk with the Father and we will be heard. He has made it possible for us to have eternal life with him and with the Father in the new heaven and new earth.
I was scared to death of my dad, if I had done anything wrong. I knew what was coming and it was not going to be pleasant. If he caught me in the act of doing bad, he gave me a look that meant “you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting!” Add to that the fact the he never forgot a promise to punish and it is no wonder that I was afraid of him. At the same time, I never doubted that my dad loved me dearly and would go to the end of the world to protect me and do what was good for me. When I had a problem, I could go to him and he would do his best to help. In many ways, he was my closest friend. I had tremendous respect for him. In the same way, when we are doing right, God is our friend. But if we are not, we have plenty of reason to be afraid. But he will forgive if we ask.
O Lord, mighty and awesome, with the utmost fear of respect I come before you in prayer but at the same time, with complete assurance in Jesus, I come to you in boldness, knowing that you will hear and answer my prayer. Thank you for loving me and showing that love in giving your Son to die in my place. Since you have done this for me, I know that you will do all things for my good, my ultimate salvation. Forgive me when I fail you. I humbly pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
