Psalms 102 – 104
Verse 102:2 is what most of us want in our relationship with God:
Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!
Often we believe God is hiding from us because we don’t see Him. We tend to justify prayers not being answered as He is absent from our lives when that is by far the reality. God may be “silent” in one’s life for a “season” not because He needs a rest, but he wants you to actually look for Him. And honestly not just in your day of “distress!”
Often when we are in distress we are grabbing at whatever we can define as God. Our minds are not able to focus and if we are not in a healthy relationship with Him, it is difficult to connect in times of stress. So instead of asking to see God in “distress” start asking now so when the problems pile on “distress” leads to comfort quickly and He will “answer” you “speedily”!
Verse 103:13 made me dive into the wording:
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
The word “fear” caught my eye here. Think about your relationship with “dad” and how it should be a relationship of love and not fear. I honestly don’t “fear” the Lord in my day to day life. I understand that He has power over all and could squash me like a bug, but I don’t fear what may happen. Sure I don’t want to be crushed any more financially or physically, but I don’t fear God doing this. No love is not fear based, but is accepting of all. If discipline or a speed bump happen, it’s done for a reason that we may never understand. So just “go with the flow”.
The word “fear” appears to be translated correctly as most English versions I looked at said the same thing, but I wonder the usage. Fear can be everything from horror to a healthy respect which is where I believe God is on this word. I don’t think God wants more “awe” or “honor” then “dread” in dealing with Him. So when we read these statements, don’t take the first definition that pops in your head, but rather research and dwell on the wording to gather a full understanding.
Verse 104:1 sums up what we should be thinking:
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendour and majesty,
Now I want to unwrap the comment “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” Think about what it is saying, how can we bless the Lord? It’s simple when you think about it; we are to honor and follow Him with all our heart and soul. We can bless the almighty by doing what we should and praising His name. So bless the Lord and you will be blessed!