Smeagol is Free!
A hermitudinal view of...stuff...


11.28.2004  

Fear and Joy

We are to fear the Lord, and we are to rejoice in the Lord. In fearing Him, we approach Him with the understanding that He is Holy, Holy, Holy, utterly separate and unique and worthy and higher than us. In rejoicing in Him, we approach Him with the understanding that He is good to us despite our unworthiness, sovereignly providing for and sustaining us as He sanctifies us in Christ. The two of these commands seem to be so very different, yet so very appropriate when considering just who the Lord is.



Think about it...when I consider Your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have ordained. The Lord not only created all we see and do not see, He also sustains them! The stars we see swooshing across the inky night sky...He causes them to swoosh! The waves Andrew lets go by him in a memorial of my absence...they're His creation! The frosty peaks of the Himalayas, or the tiny, tendril-like fingers of a newborn baby...both were crafted by Him and Him alone. What is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? In light of God's power and might and glory displayed in His creation, it is a wonder to me that He went public with His glory in order to share it with...us...with...me. He gives to us the rain and fruitful seasons, and His provision is often fulfilled through the earth and sea and sky. It is a wonder to me that we can know the Lord's power, yet know His tender touch. Indeed, what is man that You take thought of us, Lord?



To behold the swooshing stars and to give thanks for our food should be done in fear, knowing that the Lord is the great I Am who from everlasting to everlasting reigns sovereignly. Yet it should also be done in joy, for it is He who creates the stars to swoosh and the food to sustain our frail frames that we might know that He is the Lord. Thus, we can cry together with David, "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!"



Speaking of fear and joy, I'd be remiss if I did not confess that my heart is filled with both today. The fear is more than just a reverential fear of the Lord, and the joy is more than just the pure joy of knowing the Lord.



I told Jim just a little while ago, "I'm so afraid!" I'm afraid of what I must do, and I'm afraid of not being able to do it. The past three weeks have been painful, ever so painful. The valley I found myself in was dark and endless, it seemed, so much so that to suddenly find myself in the bright light once more...*sigh*...strangely enough, it fills me with fear, it does. What does the future hold? When will my heart tumble into such a valley once more? How has going through this pain strengthened my resolve, and how has it granted me perspective and wisdom? How will I lead...can I do so in complete surrender to the Lord? So many fears are in me...yet such joy! It's a sober joy in knowing that the Lord is good, and seeing and tasting that He is indeed good! My eyes have that happy crinkle they usually do...that crinkle hasn't been there for a while. I look around myself, and I keep thinking, "relax, John...relax...be sober...don't get ahead of yourself...seek the Lord...let Him lead...stop grinning like a fool...trust in Him...Proverbs three, verses five and six...you big monkey, people are going to think you're the village idiot with that big grin!" Oh, what the heck, I'm happy! I told Jim that the birds are singing a happy song, the world has vibrant color once more, and my soul is smiling. I think the very words I speak verge on song...a happy song...a joyful song.



How do I reconcile the two? How can it be that a fear that causes my knees to shake and my heart to quake can pour forth from the same springs that cause my face to grin and my feet to dance? Aaaahhhhh...God created women...only He knows.



By the way...thanks for this chance :)

posted by Bolo | 3:25 PM
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