Respectful Awe vs. Comfortable Familiarity

I had a second thought from 2 Samuel 6 I want to share. This is quite tricky because we need to have a balance. We cannot be so cavalier as to think God is there only for our benefit. And we cannot view God as so distant that He has nothing to do with us. In fact, He wants us to be completely satisfied by His entirety.

What do I mean? Let’s look at 2 Samuel 6:5 in the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB).

David and the whole house of Isra’el celebrated in the presence of ADONAI with all kinds of musical instruments made of cypress-wood, including lyres, lutes, tambourines, rattles and cymbals.

At first glance, what happened may seem like a good occurrence; however, the key to understanding what David and the rest of Israel did wrong is found in the Hebrew word translated “celebrate.” The word written in English is “sachaq.” It has the connotations of laughter, mocking, making merry, jesting, and joking all in a frivolous manner. This is not the attitude God desires of us when we approach Him or desire to worship Him.

How is this different than what David and the people did later? The second half of verse 12 says,

So David went and joyously brought the ark of God up from the house of ‘Oved-Edom into the City of David (CJB).

Isn’t celebrating the same as being joyous. After all later in the chapter we see David and the people dancing and playing the shofar (a kind of horn made from a ram’s horn). This time we look at the Hebrew word for “joyous.” It is “simchah” and means inner joy and gladness of heart. It’s not an outward or showy celebration that focuses on the happiness of the participants.

What this all means for me is that we need to be careful not to lower our standards of worship to a raucous party-like atmosphere. While dancing and singing and playing of instruments are not wrong in and of themselves, it’s the condition of our hearts that God is looking for. He wants us to approach Him with a sense of awe and wonder. He wants us to have inner joy and a deep gladness in our hearts. And, he does want us to come to Him with our problems, concerns and joys. It’s a balance between respectful awe and comfortable familiarity.

A Healthy Fear

What do you think of when you hear the word, “fear?” Fearful? Afraid? Scary? Doom? Terror? Panic? Dread? Dismay? Distress? Horror? You might think I’m talking about watching horror movies or observing Halloween, but the way I think about fear is completely different.

I’m thinking about a different kind of fear – a Biblical definition of fear. There may be an element of feeling I need to fear the judgment of God, but that is a very small part of what it means to “fear God.” I once felt a dictionary definition when it came to fearing God. I knew I was a bad person who was unable to be the perfect person I felt the religion of my childhood expected me to be. Fear was wrapped up in having “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid” (dictionary.com). Yes, that was it. I was afraid of God and the sure punishment He would exact from me and toward me. That left me feeling hopeless, shameful, and depressed. I just knew that I could never please God.

The definition of fear does not end there when you look at it from a Biblical perspective. Online I found this quote by Robert B. Strimple: “There is the convergence of awe, reverence, adoration, honor, worship, confidence, thankfulness, love, and yes, fear.” The article went on to say, “ . . . Some translations of the Bible, such as the New International Version, sometimes replace the work “fear” with “reverence.” Other translations use the word, “respect” instead of “fear.” A Biblical fear of God involves our recognition of His greatness. It involves recognizing His unique characteristics, such as omnipotence (all power), omnipresence (always present), and omniscience (all knowing). The Lord alone has these characteristics those (although some people may think they have these characteristics). God’s character is merciful and righteous at the same time whereas people sway between one and the other.

God’s characteristics create wonder in me. That wonder leads to the Biblical explanation of fear of Strimple’s definition above. I do have awe and reverence for God. I do adore Him and honor Him. I fall on my knees in worship and thankfulness. And, I have confidence in His love for me. That love that I cannot fully understand results from looking at God’s character and fearing Him. Each morning I pause and look at God’s character and fear Him. I worship Him. I give Him all the respect humanly possible for me to give. That’s a good place to start fearing God in the Biblical sense.

Anxiety Update

So, I’m home safe and sound. My adventure to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan went off without a hitch, for the most part. We did have an engine light come on when we were only 1 ½ hours from home. We found a car repair place and they said if it isn’t blinking then we had nothing to worry about. Well, it wasn’t blinking so we said a prayer, laid everything in God’s hands, and continued our drive to Marquette (another 5 hours away). We got there just fine, and my brother was able to help us unhook the battery to try and reset the computer. That worked. When we hooked everything back up, the light was gone and we had no further problems the rest of the trip.

I remember my anxiety over driving across the Mackinaw Bridge that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. There were many God sightings during that 10-minute part of the trip. Answers to prayer to be exact. There were no thunderstorms (there was a 40% chance). There was a High Wind Warning instructing semi-trucks to proceed at 20 mph. I was worried that we’d get stuck behind a truck and have to take that much longer to get across the bridge (cars could drive 40 mph). That didn’t happen. God arranged for us to have nobody driving around us. There was no one within a hundred yards of us before or after. It felt like we were all alone on the bridge. That was a good thing in my book. No pressure to drive faster or slower or to drive on the grated lane on the bridge. Smooth sailing. However, I did notice that the paved lane on the southbound side was closed for maintenance for quite a long strip of the bridge. I prayed that it wouldn’t be there on our way home or that God would work in me to give me the courage and peace of mind to drive on the grated lane of the bridge. God answered both prayers in a way: some of the paved lane was closed, but not as much as when we went up on Friday. And, I did not get stressed, panicked, or afraid when it came time to change lanes and drive on the grates. Besides, I was in the middle of the bridge and could not stop driving or go back. God gave me the courage I needed when I needed it. I praised Him as we were driving and when we reached the end of the bridge.

It all reminded me of the Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Trusting God is the only real way to gain security and peace in this world.

Acts 5:1-42: Persecution, Again

This chapter of Acts addressed two things: Purging from within (the results of Ananias’ and Sapphiras’ lies); and Purging attempts from without (the Sanhedrin persecutes the apostles again). I saw two things in the second part that made me take notice.

The first thing was found in verse 32: “And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” In the study notes, it mentioned that we all have the capacity for the Holy Spirit to work through us in miraculous ways. Why don’t we see the kinds of miracles the apostles witnessed and performed? I think the answer is in how much we are obeying (or not obeying) Christ’s commands and words. Are we as nearly devoted to sharing about Christ’s resurrection to a world that doesn’t know Him as the early Church was? Are we sharing communally with our fellow believers as the early Church was? Are we willing to rejoice in the midst of persecution as the early Church was? I don’t see that today in our churches (or in myself). I think my obedience and belief are tempered by the supposed sophistication of modern ideas and philosophies. So my commitment and behavior are not what I would call “filled with the Holy Spirit.” I think there are elements of unbelief in my heart that are thwarting the Holy Spirit from giving me the same power that the early Church had. And therefore I don’t see the same results the apostles saw.

This brings me to the second thing that stood out to me in this passage. In verse 41 it tells us the response of the apostles to the persecution they had just gone through. “So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.” When I encounter suffering or persecution (in no way as severe as the apostles suffered), do I rejoice in the midst of it? Do I rejoice after it? For that matter do I rejoice at all? If I had the same power of the Holy Spirit working through me as the apostles had, would I rejoice then? Possibly but I won’t know unless I give myself completely to His cause.

I don’t see persecution as a blessing or something to rejoice about. One of the writers of the reference notes I was looking at for this verse pointed out why this may be so. Basically, when we don’t focus on the reward in the world to come (i.e. heaven), we don’t see anything to rejoice about. The suffering seems pointless and purposeless and just part of the grind of life. However, when the suffering comes and we view it as part of God’s plan for our lives, and recognize that we are suffering the same as Jesus did, we can rejoice because we will receive the same reward Jesus received: eternal life. And, not just any eternal life, but a life filled with joy, glory, blessings, painlessness, without struggles, and basking in the glory of the Lord. When I focus on the reward to come, I am better able to accept the suffering in my life. I need to take it one step further and rejoice in it.

Why Laugh?

Keeping the theme of laughter in mind, I pondered the question of how can I laugh in the midst of my struggles. I found an answer in my daily reading in Joy Breaks. The key to laughing in the midst of tribulation and suffering is being focused on God and His eternal promises to us. 

Romans 5:3-5 are very encouraging to me and help me focus on what really matters. “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” [NASB] Proven character is the goal, and that only comes about by dealing with some suffering in our lives.

I’d rather not have to deal with the suffering part of things. The hope of the future glory we will experience, and the hope of being in the presence of God, is great. But to truly rejoice in the coming of those things, we have to experience some suffering. If everything on this earth was great and happy and fun, we would not be looking forward to being with Jesus in heaven at the end. The tribulations keep us longing for the next life; a life in God’s presence where there is no trials or suffering. If we were without the troubles and tribulations here on the earth, we would already be in the presence of God because in His presence, in His kingdom, in heaven, is the only place where everything will be perfect.

So, knowing that the suffering in this world is just preparing me for a time in the future where all my hopes will be realized, gives me cause to rejoice. With the rejoicing because of the hope of the future, a hope that will not disappoint me, I can see past the troubles I face in this world. I can be confident that better times are ahead. I can rejoice in the knowledge that this life, and any current struggles I may be having, are only temporary. I can rejoice in the eternity of peace, love, acceptance, and glory that is to come, and exist permanently for me.

So I can choose to see struggles as temporary. I can be glad for my suffering because those struggles lead to a proven character, a character that is in Christ’s likeness, in glory forever. If I view my struggles as temporary, I can laugh in the midst of them, knowing that the hope I have for an eternal existence without suffering is waiting for me.