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Psalm 128:1-2 - Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
Scripture often speaks of those who are blessed, who enjoy the favor of God. What are these blessed people like? What do they do? The merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and many more are called "blessed" (see Matthew 5:7-9). The blessed man, the psalmist says, does not share in wickedness but delights in the Law of the Lord (see Psalm 1:1-2). The blessed are those whose sins are forgiven (see Psalm 32:1). Here in our psalm, those who are blessed fear the Lord and walk in His ways. What is the fear of the Lord? Such fear may at times mean overwhelming awe and dismay in the presence of God, such as the fear Isaiah knew when he saw a vision of the Lord in the temple (see Isaiah 6:5). It is the fright of the shepherds when the glory of the Lord shone around them in the fields near Bethlehem (see Luke 2:9). Yet the fear of the Lord is also humble reverence before the mighty power of God, the realization that He is God, and we are not. The fear of the Lord is confident trust in God, who loves us and who alone has the power to save us.
Those who are blessed fear the Lord and walk in His ways. They trust the Lord and seek to live according to His will. The apostle James reflects this two-part description of fearing and walking when he says of the blessed patriarch Abraham that his "faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works" (James 2:22b). Abraham's inward, unseen faith was brought to fullness and made visible, shown to be a living faith, by his works. He trusted the Lord and acted on that trust. Our fear of the Lord, our faith in Him, is made complete and polished to shine in the world as we walk in His ways.
Throughout Scripture, people of faith feared the Lord. They trusted Him and walked in His ways, even though they could not see what lay ahead for them or what the outcome of their reverent trust and obedience would be. Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, feared God, "entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:23b). He walked in His Father's ways, "obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8b). We are called to follow Jesus, to trust Him, to fear in reverent awe the Lord who gave Himself to save us. We seek to walk in His ways, to walk in love as He walked and to forgive as we have been forgiven. The fear of the Lord in our hearts, our firm yet unseen faith, visibly becomes all that it is meant to be as we walk in His ways. That is who we are. We are blessed.
WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, through faith in You I am blessed. Lead me each day to walk in Your ways. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Reflection Questions:
1. What does the word "blessed" mean to you? Do you think you're blessed? How so?
2. How did Abraham walk in faith and thus receive God's blessing?
3. How does faith come into play when understanding and utilizing God's blessings to us?
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