The fear of the Lord tendeth to life:
and he that hath it shall
abide satisfied...
Proverbs 19:23 KJV
This verse has been running circles around my brain the past few weeks. I am not normally a King James girl but I read this verse and the wording stopped me in my tracks."Tendeth to life." "Abide satisfied." It brings to mind tranquility, peace, contentment, purpose (and for some reason a quaint picture of the English countryside.....anyone else, or is that just me? 😂) Something about it sounds so effortless, and yet incredibly intentional. Not to mention appealing! But is it even attainable? Somehow life with three littles doesn't bring thoughts of tranquility to mind. Noisy and chaotic? Now that sounds more familiar. 😏
*Side note, I love digging into word meanings. It helps me to internalize scripture and remember what I have read. Now that you have been warned here is some of what I came up with.
The Hebrew word used for fear in this verse is Yir'ah. In the context of fearing the Lord it's definition is respect, reverence, piety. Honestly I had to look up that last one to find its specific meaning. I had a vague picture in my mind of some super religious, showy, ritualistic way of acting, but according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary piety simply means "devotion to God".
Tendeth:
1. to watch; to guard; to accompany as an assistant or protector
2. to hold and take care of
3. to be attentive to
1. to watch; to guard; to accompany as an assistant or protector
2. to hold and take care of
3. to be attentive to
Abide:
1. remain
1. remain
2. continue
3. to dwell
Satisfied:
1. sated
a. to end (something, such as hunger or curiosity) by providing everything that is required or wanted
Then I like to paraphrase the verse using some of the definitions that I have found. I realize that this isn't necessarily sound theologically (not to mention grammatically), but I find it extremely helpful on a personal level.
Respect, reverence and devotion to God watches over, guards and protects
life:
and he that has respect, reverence and devotion to God shall remain, continue and dwell with everything that is required or wanted...
and he that has respect, reverence and devotion to God shall remain, continue and dwell with everything that is required or wanted...
That is just good stuff. It makes me want to curl up in a cozy blanket and take a nap! Sometimes I feel like my daily "to do" list is a mile long. Occasionally, if I am not careful, that will creep over into my relationship with God and I could get stressed out just thinking about all of the things I need to make sure I am doing, or the things I need to stop doing! More fruit of the Spirit, less selfish desires! Focus on raising littles, don't forget about evangelism! Oy vey! Sometimes you just need a verse like this to remind you that the only thing you need on your "to do" list is respect, reverence and devotion to God. If this is your focus, you don't even need a list, it will all naturally flow out of this and this alone. I love that when I am stressed out, tired, and just at the end of me, God always reminds me that I am trying to take responsibility for things that aren't mine to figure out. I don't need to make a million lists, I don't need to come up with that one perfect plan that checks off all of the boxes. I just need to pull myself close to the feet of Christ and let Him handle the rest.
So that is where I am camping out right now and I plan to enjoy it! And you know what? Despite all of the noise it feels pretty darn tranquil! 😉
