Today we're going to be looking at this verse in the context of Psalm 34:9-11:
"Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord."
There are two sections to these verses in which we're going to be diving into today - and these are that of having a reverent fear of the Lord and then Godly pursuit.
Two verses before this section, in verse 7, a beautiful promise is given to those who fear God, and it is that the angel of the Lord would encamp around those who fear Him and that He would deliver them.
So this raises the question: what does it mean to fear God?
To quote Gerald Wilson (an Old Testament scholar), "To 'fear God/Yahweh' is to pare life down to its essential core: acceptance that one is completely dependent on God's gracious, underserved mercy. To experience that mercy in the midst of trouble is to know the 'blessing' our psalmist describes."
To fear is to trust and revere.
First, in verse 9 God tells us that those who trust and are depending on Him will have no lack - and this is an incredible promise. It's not partial in any way, but complete. God's provision for His own isn't told to us in regards of temporal or seasonal regulations - but it is instead ever-flowing and never-ending. If you feel like you're forgotten, afraid, or unsure - come back to promises like these.
Whether you admit it or not, every single one of us is pursuing something in life. You may not even realize you're pursuing something, but we all are. So this means that the question isn't if, but what we are seeking.
Immediately after stating that those who fear the Lord will have no lack, David provides a mental picture of young lions who aren't able to provide for themselves. This image isn't an accident either, but instead as theological value. The young lions, who have insanely powerful potential to provide for themselves, are dependent. Even though they have potential they aren't fast enough or strong enough to do so. And this is what David likens to our state apart from God's provision.
When we fear God, our fate is not that of the young lions, but instead rests with that of God, in which we will lack no good thing. And by "no good thing" - this does not mean that we get anything and everything that we want, when we want it. It's easy to twist this to mean something other than what is rooted in Scripture. David is crying out for help in this Psalm because his difficulty was real - and the point of this Psalm is dependence.
This dependence is echoed in Romans 8:31-32 about God's own. It says,
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"
The point to take away from this is if God sent His own Son to take our place, will He not provide for us? He already did the hardest work in saving our souls, will He not also provide for the needs of those who seek and fear Him?
Yes. He will. So fear Him - seek Him.
