How many times have I read this verse as when I’m scared in my circumstances I will trust in God? Pretty much every time I’ve read it.
Today I did some research on the words originally used and I see another way to view them.
“When” is translated from yômʹ which means day, lifetime, a year, today. So…. anytime.
“I am afraid” is translated from yârêʾ which can mean fear like we normally think of it, but it can also mean the fear and reverence we are to have for God. The holding-one-in-honor kind of fear.
“I will put … trust” is translated from ʾěḇ·ṭāḥʹ which means to be confident in, trusting, without suspicion, be full of confidence in.
My spirit is reveling in this new understanding and I hope I can convey it well.
We can be awed by many different things, a baby’s smile, a little bunny in the yard, a butterfly on a flower, the majesty of mountains tall and oceans wide. We can look at the moon and stars and be amazed. What do we do with that?
Do we just see that’s amazing and go on? Do we gasp in wonder at the creation and move along? Or do we see and honor the Creator who made each awesome sight?
Do we see these things and recognize that the One who made them made us and holds us together? Do we then choose to believe Him, without suspicion of nefarious motivations, without question, fully confident in who God is and what He can and will do?
I feel like if I look at the beautiful and incredible at every turn and see the God who made each rather than noting all there is to be afraid of, it will be easier to face the scary stuff when it comes along.
So today, I’m using these new translations in this verse:
Anytime I am awed,
I will be filled with
confidence in You, God.
Anyone else?
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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Faye Bryant is an author, coach, and speaker who helps individuals escape the lies of the enemy, live into God’s truth, and build a better life by first feeling, dealing, and healing their way through a stuck future or an abused past, toward a deeper path of purpose, and into the unhackable life of their chosen legacy. Hers is a story of resurrection: from death to life!
