Unlimited Resources

Deuteronomy 28:12 “The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.”

Job 38:22 “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?”

Psalm 135:7 “He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.”

Jeremiah 10:13 “When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.”

Psalm 33:7 (NIV) “He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses.”

Each of the verses above has a common theme.  God has storehouses!  He has wind, rain, hail, and snow stored in his treasury.  While I love the reality that he stores up wind, rain, hail, and snow, I get really excited about Psalm 31:19 “How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.”  Here we see that God has good things stored up for those who fear him. 

If fearing God is a prerequisite for receiving the unlimited resources (good things: blessings, provision, healing, needs met, every good thing) he has stored up for us, then what does it mean to fear the Lord? 

The Hebrew verb yare can mean “to fear, to respect, to reverence” and the Hebrew noun yirah “usually refers to the fear of God and is viewed as a positive quality. This fear acknowledges God’s good intentions (Ex. 20:20). … This fear is produced by God’s Word (Ps. 119:38; Prov. 2:5) and makes a person receptive to wisdom and knowledge (Prov. 1:7; 9:10)” (Warren Baker and Eugene Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament, 2003, pp. 470-471).

The Greek noun phobos can mean “reverential fear” of God, “not a mere ‘fear’ of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985, “Fear, Fearful, Fearfulness”). This is the type of positive, productive fear Luke describes in the early New Testament Church:

“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied” (Acts 9:31, emphasis added).

One resource includes this helpful summary: “The fear of God is an attitude of respect, a response of reverence and wonder. It is the only appropriate response to our Creator and Redeemer” (Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible, 1997, note on Psalm 128:1).  Taken from http://lifehopeandtruth.com/god/who-is-god/fear-of-the-lord/

If we want the blessings of God, the unlimited resources he has stored up for us, we must maintain an attitude of fearful respect.  We must obey his laws because we love him but also because we realize, if he were not sustaining the universe or chose not to, he could end our lives in a moment.  We have life because he chose to give it to us.  Every good and prefect gift is from his hand.  James 1:17 “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”

The Psalmist also says these blessings are poured out on “those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.” (Psalm 31:19b) 

Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!”

Psalm 91:2 “This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.”

Psalm 27:5 “For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.”

Psalm 71:3 “Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.”

Proverbs 14:26 “Those who fear the Lord are secure; he will be a refuge for their children.”

As we can see the Word is also packed full of scriptures about God being our refuge.  When the storms of life rise in our lives we can run to the Lord for protection and refuge.  He is faithful and will protect us.  He will also pour out blessings on our lives as we seek his care and protection. 

God’s unlimited resources are available to those who both fear him and seek his protection and care.  In the verses above we have seen that God holds the rain, snow, hail, and wind in storehouses.  If he is able to orchestrate the weather all over the world at one time, why would we doubt for a minute that he is able to handle our burdens?

Psalm 111:10 “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever!”  Let us build our lives on the foundation of wisdom and learn to fear the Lord and to run to him for protection.  As we do he promised to pour out good things on our lives.  

All Scriptures are NLT unless otherwise noted.