Word & Prayer Reflection: Psalm 31
“Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!”
I don’t like to admit it, but sometimes I feel that a wave of anxiety can pummel me and leave me completely exhausted. I had an experience like this at work just this week. For two hours, fear took over— my mind raced on how to fix a problem and I wished it could all go away. I am so glad God brought this verse to mind because it’s a truth exploding with meaning for times when negative feelings seem to overwhelm me.
The anchoring promises found in this verse are the following: if I fear and take refuge in God, then He stores up abundant goodness for me and works for me. Not only does God give grace when I need it in the present, He commits to provide it in the future! This means I can trust God to show His kindness to me in all the ups and downs that might come my way. This knowledge of future grace is a promise strong enough to drown out any of my fear-filled thoughts about the future. But how do I obtain this future grace and sovereignty of God, who ordains and works on my behalf?
1. Grace
The simple answer is…by way of grace. God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth chooses to show his love—self-initiated and unceasing—toward us because that is His very nature; He is love (1 John 4:8). His character is steadfast and like a good father, he chooses to show love to his kids regardless of how deserving we are.
2. Fear God
Beyond that, the answer to how to receive God’s goodness lies in the involvement of our wills. Just as God chooses to show us his kindness, we have a choice. We can choose to fear him. When we fear God, we choose to revere him and honor him. We choose to remember his will and desires for our lives. We choose to remember his character and what he loves and hates. The answer is to choose fear of God over the fear of the future, fear of people, fear of anything in this fleeting world…and to love him more.
3. Take Refuge in God
What is another way to obtain God’s goodness? We can choose to take refuge in him by placing our hope in, confiding in, and trusting in God. This means that I do not place hope in my knowledge, talent, work, charm, money, wealth (etc.) for my identity or security. It means that I trust in God alone to work for me and to sustain me, knowing that He is the giver of life and that all good gifts come from him (James 1:17).
So the next time I begin to get anxious, I can remember that I get to trust in a perfect God and Father who has chosen to set His love and grace on me first.