Psa 34:11 “Come, my children, listen to me;”
[We need to be as teachable as children. They recognize their limited abilities, their dependence on their elders, and are open to input, learning and guidance; so should we be before God, always ready to hear from God rather than relying on our own thoughts and ideas.]
“I will teach you the fear of the LORD.”
[Knowing how to fear God is not something natural, something we can figure out ourselves. We need His input to understand what the fear of the Lord is, and how to live in it. Are we listening?]
Psa 34:12 “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days,”
[Here are the results of fearing the Lord: we will live longer, and we will have many days where we have lots of good flowing into our lives. Who doesn’t want that? God wants to motivate us to desire to fear Him.]
Psa 34:13 “keep your tongue from evil”
[First element of the fear of the Lord is not speaking what is evil. No complaining (a big evil in God’s eyes because we are saying He’s not always good), no gossip, no negatives, no cutting others down, no manipulation, no sarcasm, no selfish boasting.]
“and your lips from speaking lies.”
[No lies, only truth. So no more telling ourselves lies (“Poor me,” “Everything is terrible,” “No one loves me,” “Nothing ever goes right.” “I can never win,” “Whatever I do, it’s wrong.”), no more telling others lies, no matter how polite they seem (“I’m fine” when I’m not. Instead, saying something like, “I’m having a difficult time, but am trusting God in it.” This is an honest answer that brings glory to Him and may open up meaningful conversation). And definitely no intentional lies to protect self.]
Psa 34:14 “Turn from evil and do good;”
[Reject darkness and live in the light. I must measure my motives, thoughts, words and actions by Scripture, by what Jesus did and commanded. No delving into lustful thoughts, jealousy, competition, criticalness, gossip or complaining. I must avoid evil at all costs, spotting it early on and rejecting it in favor of doing what God deems good. Confessing ahead forearms and forewarns me; I need God’s help to see evil in every area before it becomes action, so I can bring Him glory.]
“seek peace and pursue it.”
[Not just desire peace, but whole-heartedly run after it, push to get peace, beginning with forgiving those who have hurt us, returning good for evil, blessing those who persecute us, and being loving to those who are obstinate. Lord give me wisdom in how to do this correctly.]
Praise you, Heavenly Father, for sending your Spirit to give us your Word: clear, deep, rich and transforming. Help us to walk in the fear of the Lord today, taking your Word as the measure. Alert me to when I am not doing so and help me to get back onto the path immediately. Praise you now for how you will help me. Amen.
