Day 77 | Austin Davis
“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.”(Psalm 128:1-2)
I've had an issue with understanding the intent behind certain key words in the bible, let alone words in general.This verse has one of those words: Fear. The word “fear” brings up a lot of different painful memories and present day tensions. Fear is something I avoid and something I dislike experiencing. It makes me feel weak and powerless.
I know this painting is super well known and sometimes overused, but there is something I’d like to state about it. One major aspect that stuck out to me is that the people in the painting are not realistic/surreal looking. Edvard Munch, the artist of “The Scream”, was capable of painting realistic looking scenery and humans, but he didn't for this painting.I believe there is a connection between the theme of the portrait being fearful and the style of the painting being surreal. The fears in my life should be obviously unrealistic because I have an all powerful God on my side, but when we let fear consume us, it becomes unrealistically controlling.
So what does it mean when this verse tells us to fear the Lord? Are we supposed to fear the thing that we are trusting with our lives? Or is it a different type of fear?
When we look at Jesus and the life he lived, screaming for our lives in fear towards the Lord isn't the first thing that comes to mind. The verse above states that anyone who fears the lord will be blessed and all will be well with them.
“The Lord is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked. May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward!” (Psalm 129:4-5)
The type of fear I see these verses portraying is a type of authoritative respect that causes order, a type of fear that leaves us in awe at God’s mighty works.
A God who turns evil backwards and blesses those who try to love like he does seems like the type of God to be “feared.”