Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
Reverence – Part 4
Over the last several weeks I have been writing about the subject of reverence and ways we can show God our respect. When you hear the phrase “fear of the Lord” – this means to have reverence for Him. and having reverence for God means that we respect Him. R.T. Kendall said, “What is missing in the church more than anything in the world at the present time is the fear of God and a sense of sin.” I do believe this is true and I believe that is why our world is in a whole lot of trouble right now. We need to turn our hearts back to Him. And one way we need to revere Him is through obedience.
Philippians 2:12 tells us to “…[obey] God with deep reverence and fear.” I find it very telling that when Paul wrote this, he associated obedience with reverence. When we obey the Lord, we are showing Him that we fear Him and respect Him. I understand that sometimes obedience can be scary, especially if God is asking us to take a big step or do something that seems unreasonable. But when we do what He asks, we are proving our devotion. We are telling Him that we are committed to Him.
Obedience is an important aspect of our relationship with God. But it is also a key that will unlock the doors we have been struggling to open. Do you remember the hymn “Trust and Obey?” Obedience and Trust go hand in hand. When we trust God, we obey Him. When we obey God, we will see that He is trustworthy. Trust increases our obedience and obedience increases our trust. It is a beautiful cycle that grows stronger over time.
Obedience also brings us blessings. God has a reason for each thing He asks us to do. With our human eyes, we might not be able to see the big picture. But God always sees the big picture. He sees the beginning and the end. He knows what is best and He works things out for our good. So even when what He asks seems difficult, we have to have faith that He knows what is best.
“Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” – Deuteronomy 5:33
We also obey God out of love. Just think about how much God pours His love, blessings, protection, guidance, comfort, care, and strength over us. How can we not want to honor Him and love Him in return with our obedience? Remember the words that Jesus spoke in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” That statement alone makes me want to show God my reverence, honor, and love through obedience.
I pray we all can turn our hearts towards Him, with proper reverence and respect. I pray we all can learn to wholeheartedly trust and obey Him. Humbling ourselves before God, and clinging to Him through each day, will ultimately bring us a sense of peace. We will know that our lives are in the hands of Almighty God, and that is the safest place to be.
I will leave you with a song: Trust and Obey performed by Big Daddy Weave
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Bridget A. Thomas 
Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.
This song took me back to when I was much younger. It was something we often sang in our church then.
Trust and obedience is truly a cycle. We show our trust in Jesus when we obey and as we obey we increase in our trust.
I am enjoying this reverence series.
May we walk in obedience and honour him with our trust and devotion.
Have a very blessed day my lovely friend. You are such a blessing to me 🤗💙
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I am glad the song brought back good memories! I love our modern worship songs, but is so refreshing to revisit the old hymns.
You are so right about the cycle of trusting and obeying. This is something that I learned recently as my heart was opened to just how trustworthy our Lord is. And knowing we can trust Him brings such a sense of peace.
Aww thank you for the sweet message. That made my day! You truly are a blessing to me too! ❤️
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Amen!! I thought of our calling to obey and surrender as I read your post. Thank you for reminding me if that sweet song too❤️
Praying for those who aren’t following Him or don’t know Him and those of us who are, I pray we set an example of encouragement! And that God may be glorified in that!
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Amen! I stand with you in prayer! To non-Christians and new Christians, obeying and surrendering may seem so foreign. But once we have walked with the Lord and have seen how loving He is, obedience and surrender brings us contentment, as we rest in the hands of our Heavenly Father. ❤️
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To understand the meaning behind, fear of the Lord, helped me grow in my faith. Know He did not want me to tremble from actually fear of his heavy hand on me was an eyeopener.
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Yes! We have a loving Father who only wants the best for us. But He deserves our respect because of His power and goodness. 😊
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This post is beautiful as well. It was a little more difficult for me to read because of the anxiety aspect of my depression, but it still had a comforting aspect to it. Thankfully my anxiety is decreasing some. It was really difficult to read posts when my anxiety was really high. I felt like I was failing miserably at everything. I had to stop reading posts for a while. Keep sharing your heart for God. You’re doing great Bridget. ❤
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I am sorry that you have been struggling so much. But I do understand because I have been there. I pray that Jesus will guide you, as you try to find your way. Give yourself grace and rest in His arms. ❤️
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Thank you. ❤
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I love that eternal circle of trust and obedience that Perth Girl referenced.
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So true! And how beautiful that is!
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What a great reminder to be obedient and put all of our trust in the Lord. My daughter is experiencing some health issues right now and while I want to put all my trust in the Lord for complete healing, I also want to heal her myself! It’s so hard to be a mom sometimes. LOL
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I understand! But what a comfort to know that God loves your daughter so much. Even when we feel helpless, we know He is there for our loved ones. I will be sure to pray for your daughter. I’m glad you found the post to be encouraging. Blessings, my friend!
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Thank you for your kind words and your prayers! 🙂
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