Most wondrous of all in nature was human life, and beyond all sublimity was the human soul!”
–Zane Grey (Wanderer of the Wasteland)
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help.”
–Psalm 34:15 (HCSB)
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I like the way this portion of Psalm 34 starts out–there are two paramount ingredients to have a purposeful and meaningful life. The first is to be taught the “fear of the Lord,” and the second is to “delight in life.” My Pastor when I was growing up was G.R. Kelly and I have a note written in a Bible from one of his sermons: “Life is living.” These verses tell us how to enjoy this life that the Lord has given us. Notice: we have to be teachable. That is a real problem with many people. Lessons will come, the means by which we learn them is up to us. Remember that life gives the test first, then teaches the lesson.
11 – Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 – Who is the man who delights in life, loving a long life to enjoy what is good?
13 – Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.
14 – Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it.
15 – The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry for help.
16 – The face of the Lord is set against those who do what is evil, to erase all memory of them from the earth.
17 – The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them from all their troubles.
18 – The Lord is near the brokenhearted; He saves those crushed in spirit.
19 – Many adversities come to the one who is righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all.
20 – He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken.
21 – Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 – The Lord redeems the life of His servants, and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished. (HCSB)
Our heavenly Father carefully watches over His children. He listens for their cry. He protects and guards them. Let’s look at how we shall live and be His children.
1) We are not to be independent.
Man needs the Lord. This is one thing that man fights against for he wants to be autonomous. God is our deliverer and sustainer. We need to fear the Lord and walk in the light of His Word.
2) We are to talk right and live right.
For some reason this is a major problem today. Filthy language is common place and even Christians smirk at the thought that they should not curse or use coarse jesting. It is imperative that we replace wrong thought and actions with right ones.
3) We are to stay tender.
It is easy, with all the hatred to join in with their ranks. However, hatred is not what the Lord desires from us. God is far from hard-hearted people so we should seek to keep our hearts tender.
Someone has said that, “Victory is the crisis moment of exhilaration, but peace is the long-term aftermath.” The term, “Shalom” means “wholeness, soundness.” If we have the peace of the Lord we will be a whole person; we will walk with soundness of soul.
4) We need to wait for final outcomes.
There is a contrast between the righteous and the wicked. Their life is different, their words are different, their outlook is different, their actions are different. Seek to be righteous for the wicked will be destroyed.
Listen, adversity may scar, muscles may be strained, but the bones will not be broken. In other words, the inner man will make it to heaven. Keep in mind that our essential care is in the hands of the Lord.
“Teach me, my God and King,
In all things thee to see.
And what I do in anything
To go it as for thee.”
–George Herbert