Another post in the series on Psalm 34. You can find previous posts here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.
Fear the LORD, you His holy people,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
Psalm 34:8-16
God cares for those who follow Him. He will provide what is needed when we choose to follow Him.
Taste and see that the LORD is good . . ."
We are invited to experience God's goodness. It's not something we have to just agree with in our heads - it's something we can know from experience.
". . . blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him . . ."
We can take refuge in the midst of the storms of life in God. We can find a safe place to hide in God. Hiding in God doesn't mean we won't face troubles. We still will face hard times in life. But we don't have to face them alone. We have somewhere safe to be - protected in God's arms in the midst of the storm.
". . . fear the LORD, you His holy people, for those who fear Him lack nothing . . ."
David again reminds us that fearing God is important. When we honour and respect God for Who He is, He provides for our every need. We will have everything we need. It doesn't mean we'll have everything we want, or even think we need. But, God will make sure we have everything we need to do what He has for us to do.
". . . The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing."
God will give us good things when we seek Him first. Following God is the best way to live. I don't want to preach some kind of prosperity gospel, because I don't believe it's true that life will always be easy and we'll have every earthly good when we follow God. But, I believe that God will give us every good thing we truly need when we seek Him - every good thing that He knows we need.
". . . Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD . . ."
David was prepared to teach others how to follow God and give Him the honour and respect that He should get because of Who He is. That is the job of each of us - to help each other better understand what it means to fear the LORD.
". . . Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies . . ."
The way we talk has huge implications in our lives. We need to pay attention to what is coming out of our mouths. Evil talk has no place coming out of the mouth of a follower of Christ. Neither do lies. The power of our mouths to do harm or to do good cannot be over-stated. It is incredibly powerful - that is why we have to be so careful about what we say.
". . . Turn from evil and do good . . ."
It's not enough to just turn from something. We need to turn to something else. If we just turn from something and don't replace it with something else, we will quickly find ourselves turning back to exactly what we turned from in the first place. We need to turn from doing things are evil and replace them with things that are good. Not because it's about doing things to earn God's favour, but because it's about doing the right things because we follow and love God.
". . . seek peace and pursue it."
Peace isn't something that just comes our way. It is something we have to chase after. It won't come our way by accident. Peace will only come our way if we seek it.
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