Psalm 34:9-10 Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. 10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
We will be looking at verses 9 and 10 together. They are tied together because they both discuss the idea of not lacking. Before we get into the wonderful idea of not lacking we have some important things we need to make sure are taken care of first. We can’t put the cart before the horse, or in today’s terms the trailer before the truck. Sadly many people try to do this spiritually when they expect to not be lacking in anything but aren’t willing to do what is necessary first.
We see first in verse 9 that if we are not to be lacking we are to fear the Lord. In verse 7 we learned fearing the Lord means to have respect, or reverence, to be in awe of Him. Again let me remind you that you should not be scared of the Lord once you have accepted Him as your Savior. However, if you have not made that decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior then there should be some fear as we know it. In Romans 5:12 we read “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” When I read that verse I don’t like the way it sounds! If you are not saved you will face the wrath of God. God is a God of love. He loves you so much he sent His one and only son to die for your sins and mine. He wants to come into fellowship with you. He wants to have a personal relationship with you. He has done his part, now it is time for you to do yours if you have not already.
Verse 9 said that “his holy people” are to fear the Lord. I am saved, I am one of God’s holy people, but let me tell you that I personally am not better than anyone who has not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I am only holy because I have been washed by the blood of Jesus. I have been made holy and righteous in God’s eyes because when He looks at me he doesn’t see me, he doesn’t see my sinful life, he sees the blood of Jesus that covers all of my sin. If you have never made that choice, let today be the day.
Recognize that you are a sinner, that there is nothing you can do about your sinful nature. Know that we are told in Romans 3:10 that there is none righteous no not one. We also read in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. Not just a physical death but a spiritual death, eternity separated from God. Those who do not accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will pay the ultimate price for not making a decision. But Paul tells us in Romans 10 :9 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Make sure you understand that it isn’t just about the words. It isn’t just a prayer. You have to believe in your heart! You have to make a commitment to God with your mind and your heart! When you do you too are one of His holy people.
Verse 9 goes on and tells us that his holy people, lack nothing. We will discuss this idea of lacking nothing shortly. But first lets look at how verse 10 starts, “The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord.” The word lions in the original text is an interesting one. It can be interpreted two ways. The first is that of a young lion. One that has been weaned and is now on its own to provide for itself. I haven’t watched much national geographic so I am no lion expert but I am guessing it is pretty hard for a lion just off it’s mother to be overly effective in capturing some protein. I would bet many a young lion goes hungry for a while, possibly starting out as a scavenger and feeding off left overs of other lion kills.
The original word for lion can also be interpreted as ‘strong men.’ I found this interesting because the lion it refers to isn’t overly strong compared to the older and mature lions that have learned hunt and kill effectively. However, strong men has the implication of someone that is mature, someone that can provide for themselves, someone who has what he needs to take care of himself. The problem is the lions he refers to in this writing are ones that are strong by their own strength. They rely on their own power, on their own abilities. The think they can handle anything that comes their way. The problem is they can’t and the verse makes it clear when it says they, ‘grow weak and hungry.” They aren’t getting the nutrients they need because they are hungry so they in turn grow weak! Luckily the verse has some hope in it because it has a very special three letter word in it, but. ‘But’ those who seek the Lord, lack no good thing.’
Again we see there is a choice. we can either be a strong man away from God who grows hungry and weak or we can choose to follow Christ and have our needs met. Make sure you see what verse 10 tells us, ‘but those who seek the Lord.’ Again it isn’t just about believing, it isn’t about saying some words or a prayer. It is about a total life change. It is about seeking after him. The word seek here means to consult, to study, to follow.
When is the last time you consulted God on something you were dealing with? You went to Him and prayer and just laid it all out for Him? When is the last time you spent time each day in His word and sought after Him. You wanted to know more about Him. You wanted to learn who He is and what He is doing. When is the last time you committed to following His will for your life no matter where it took you or what it cost you? That is what His holy people are called to do! We are to seek after Him daily!
When we are his holy people and when we give him the reverence he deserves we seek Him out. We pursue Him and the plan he has for our life. David tells us when we do we will lack nothing and we will lack no good thing. How awesome is that! How wonderful to know that that we will not be lacking. I can’t promise you that you will get that new car you want, or the job promotion you have worked for, there is not guarantee you will have the nice new house on the corner. I don’t care what some smiley tv evangelist tells you that isn’t how God works. He will meet your needs and many times he will exceed that! I used to think I needed the next great technology gadget. I didn’t need it, heck I kept my iPhone 4 for 4 years and got by just fine. I need a personal relationship with Lord and Savior. I need a strong marriage built on God that grows my relationship with Him and my wife relationship with Him. I need a family that fears God and wants to grow closer to Him daily. Yes I need food and some money to pay the bills but that is about it. When did we stop thinking about what we can do for others through Christ and start thinking so much about what we can do for ourselves!
I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me. I have the assurance of my salvation. I have the opportunity every Sunday to stand up in front of people and share the love of Jesus with them. I am blessed! I lack nothing and the reason is because I have everything in Jesus. He is my all and all. You can take it all away but as long as I have Him I have what I need!
Things to Think About
1.) Are you one of His holy people? If not what has kept you from making that decision? If you are explain what you feel when you hear you are one of His holy people.
2.) What do you do daily/weekly to seek the Lord? What are two things you could add to that list?
3.) Explain what it means to you to lack nothing. What is the lowest you have been and God still met your needs.