I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.

Psalm 34:4-7

As we continue our look at the 34^th Psalm, we find the treasure chest of the Word of God wide open; what do we learn?

First, we see that if we seek Him, He will respond and take away our fears. Isn’t that interesting? He’ll take away all our fears. If you think about it, most of the time when we have serious problems in life, our fears are worse than the actual problems; often fear can make a problem almost impossible to solve, until we get out of fear’s clutches.

Then we learn that people who seek God are radiant and their faces are “never covered with shame”. Thinking about this one, it seems to me that if we are always seeking God’s presence, we don’t have the shame of misdeeds or dishonesty because God never leads us down that path. Our consciences are clear and we can sleep soundly every night.

After that, we see that God will help the poor through their difficulties. He does not discriminate, instead, He loves all people.

Finally, we learn that the one who “fears” the Lord will be protected and loved, and receive the blessing of God in every way through this life. To fear the Lord is a somewhat old-fashioned way to describe reverent respect and a desire to serve God according to His plans and purpose.

Do you know what I think? I think that if we live our lives that way, if we “fear the Lord” in that sense, we probably won’t encounter nearly so many problems and difficulties, as someone who does not “fear” the Lord.

Don’t you agree?