June 24, 2012 – Psalms 34

2 – “I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall be always in my mouth”.  How often can we say this.  How often do we think we are doing so well when we are actually praising Him 30% of our time.  Is His praise always on our mouth.  That is the goal to shoot for.  When are those moments when we hope God can’t see us.  When are we caught in our sin.  If only in that moment before we fall we could remember to praise the Lord.  How often would we not fall.  How would our lives look if we praised God always, 75%, 50% of the time. 

5 – “I sought the LORD, and he answered me, delivered me from all my fears.”  I was just talking to Michelle about fears.  We often fear things that will never see the light of day.  We fear doing something that no one will ever know about.  We allow fear to hold us comatose. Many think fear is the opposite of courage, but they do not oppose each other.  1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear”.  Love is the opposition of fear.  Courage needs fear.  Without fear, there would not be courage.  Love, in its fullest sense, is the absence of all fear.  I don’t know if we really think about fear and love in the same senses, but it is something to reflect on.  If you love writing, you should have no fear of what you are writing, whether it is good or bad, whether people will like it or not.  I was trying to think of what love is pushing back any fear of running for office.  Thinking about it, it feels like a love for the community, a love for my family and their future, and love (maybe love is not quite the right word, maybe a better word in a faith or trust) for God’s will for me, for my vocation, for the path He is leading me on.  I really feel called to this and knowing that, loving that, keeps the fear away.  It is still there, and I moments I am terrified about failing or even succeeding, but it is “cast out” by me trust and love for the Lord and what He has in store for me. 

A couple of other “real” examples of this.  Fully loving your other takes cast out fear of the commitment.  Love of a child takes away the fear of having one.  Love of your neighbor cast out the fear of helping them, making yourself vulnerable to them, opening yourself up.  Love cast out fear.  Trust in God, who is Love, is where we need to go when we feel fear, when we feel that comatose feeling.