Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“Then the princes of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king’s work, offered willingly; and they gave for the service of God’s house of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand darics, of silver ten thousand talents, of bronze eighteen thousand talents, and of iron one hundred thousand talents. People with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of Yahweh’s house, under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Yahweh; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. Therefore David blessed Yahweh before all the assembly; and David said, “You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all! In your hand is power and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all! Now therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from you, and we have given you of your own. For we are strangers before you and foreigners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no remaining. Yahweh our God, all this store that we have prepared to build you a house for your holy name comes from your hand, and is all your own. I know also, my God, that you try the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things. Now I have seen with joy your people, who are present here, offer willingly to you. Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the heart of your people, and prepare their heart for you; and give to Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep your commandments, your testimonies, and your statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for which I have made provision.””
(1 Chronicles 29:6-19)

“I will extol you, Yahweh, for you have raised me up,
    and have not made my foes to rejoice over me.
Yahweh my God, I cried to you,
    and you have healed me.
Yahweh, you have brought up my soul from Sheol.
    You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
Sing praise to Yahweh, you saints of his.
    Give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment.
    His favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may stay for the night,
    but joy comes in the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
    “I shall never be moved.”
You, Yahweh, when you favored me, made my mountain stand strong;
    but when you hid your face, I was troubled.
I cried to you, Yahweh.
    I made supplication to the Lord:
“What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit?
    Shall the dust praise you?
    Shall it declare your truth?
Hear, Yahweh, and have mercy on me.
    Yahweh, be my helper.”
You have turned my mourning into dancing for me.
    You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness,
   to the end that my heart may sing praise to you, and not be silent.
Yahweh my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”
(Psalm 30)

David knew the key to worship: giving. Giving of your things. Giving freely. Giving of your time and energy. Giving without thought of what you might get back. Giving without holding anything back. Giving to give simply because God is worth sacrifice. Gifts, tithes, and offerings have no meaning if they don’t cost us anything. When there is no cost, it doesn’t matter whether you give it or not because it doesn’t affect you in any way. Giving helps us condition our hearts to God. It helps us work through our selfishness and covetousness. It helps us humble ourselves and make sure that we are not clinging to things that don’t matter in the long run. There is nothing wrong with liking our lives, our things, and our circumstances. But they aren’t things to hang onto. By giving of ourselves and not hanging onto anything material (as if THAT was what gave us freedom or happiness), we learn to rely on God, thank God, worship God, and do as God does: bless everyone around ourselves.

The foundation of everything we have is God. It is not us. It is not our wealth. It is not our position, or our country, or our employment, or our family, or anything like that. It is God. He is the starting point. He is the completion point. And He is holding every point in between. When we see that and we accept that, we are in the place of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is what opens the doors of our heart to the Kingdom. It is the way we enter into His presence. When we let go of the things of this world, we have nothing in our hands blocking our getting a hold of God’s things.

Summary

David’s final speech to his people and the prayer that he prays have striking similarities to the way Jesus prayed (Matthew 6:9-13). We need to keep our hearts thankful and willing to give. Not to hoard anything. There is nothing we have that God can’t give us again – or a better version of it. There is nothing that will give us true security. There is nothing that will give us true rest or safety. Only God can give that. We should be grateful to Him We should make sure that He is in His rightful place in our lives. We should be looking to Him as our Source. There is nothing He can’t provide. There is nothing He can’t give. There is nothing He can’t save us from. He is great and merciful and gracious and kind and loving. There is NONE like Him. We need to keep Him in focus. Every day and throughout the whole day. He is deserving of honour, praise, and giving. Because He loves us. Because He is God. And because He is GOOD.