The Fear Of The Lord

Recently, I did the bridge-walk that sits underneath one of the highest bridges in the country.  As our group walked out over the New River Gorge in West Virginia, we looked down some 900 feet to the river below.  It was an awesome sight, and I mean awesome in the sense that it invoked a certain level of fear and trembling.  It took our breath away!

That is one of the ways the Bible describes worship - it is a “fear of the LORD”.  As I stood there taking pictures, wishing the pictures could fully convey the majesty and thrill of what we were seeing, I had this thought: “When was the last time my thoughts of God took my breath away?  When was the last time I grieved that my words and joy would not adequately express to someone else the power of God’s presence that I experienced?”.  

It is important for followers of Jesus to think of this “fear”, this worship of God, and to seek the Spirit’s work in our hearts to legitimately bring us to our knees before Him.

"Missions Exists Because Worship Doesn't"

John Piper wrote one of the best quotes on missions that I have ever read:  

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”  

What we do missionally is to bring others to a place of worship of Jesus Christ.  And when we see God’s work through our missional efforts, what we really see is the actual presence of God working through our efforts.  We see the Invisible Hands strengthen our feeble ones.  We encounter God!  

And therein lies some of the reason for our celebration, our worship, our joy!  We rejoice to see the outcomes.  But, even greater, we rejoice to see God!  Missions produces worship in us as well.

Living A Life After God's Own Heart

One of the things I think we can take away from the story of David is his willingness to live his faith and his beliefs right there on the line!  Sometimes, his passion got the better of him.  Sometimes, like in the story of Nabal and Abigail, it almost got the best of him.  But, you cannot help but appreciate his courage and his willingness to take risks to see good ends come about.  G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “A man who thinks much about success must be the drowsiest sentimentalist; for he must be always looking back.”  

David was a man of action!  What a wonderful example as we think about our day-to-day lives that could use an infusion of some of that forward movement.  Maybe it is a friend you feel you should be sharing the gospel with.  Perhaps it is a note or a card you need to send.  It could be a relationship that you need to take a step forward to repair, or a ministry you have been dreaming of being involved in.  

David’s story is given to point us to Jesus and also to give us some great examples of living a life after God’s own heart.