Trembling

“This is the man upon whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” (Isaiah 66:2)

When was the last time we trembled at God’s Word? How seriously do we take our Bible study? These are questions the Spirit of God is leading us to use to examine our hearts. These questions are probing my very heart this morning as I write.

What does it mean when God says “trembles at my word”?

I love the Word of God! When I study the Word I try to learn more about the writer, what he is saying, looking at his words through his eyes and culture. I often take what I read to examine my own heart, even if the author was writing to someone else. For instance, I have asked myself if I am one who “trembles at [God’s] word”. How seriously do I take His Word? How careful am I to handle His Word with fear and reverence?

The word “trembles” comes from the Hebrew word “chared” meaning “fearful; reverential”. It comes from a root word “charad” which gives further understanding: “to shudder with terror; to fear, also to hasten (with anxiety): to be (or make) afraid, be careful, quake, tremble”.

Do I really tremble at God’s Word? Do WE really tremble at His Word? Do we take our duty to “revere” His commands seriously? Or, are we counting on God’s mercy to cover us while we simply live our lives the way we see fit?

The problem is that most of us are so busy trying to make a living, raise a family, pay the bills, keep up with society’s demands, etc., that we have lost the fear of God—the reverential awe of His Word and the careful attention to DO and LIVE the Word of God. In most of our lives, the Word of God takes a minute place (if any place at all) while we rush through our day to keep up with our busy schedules.

God tells us that He is looking for those who consider His Word as the very essence of life, as necessary as breath.

John Wesley once said, “I have thought I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God, just hovering over the great gulf, till a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing—the way to heaven, how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach the way; for this very end He came from heaven. He has written it down in a book. O give me that Book at any price, give me the Book of God” (from the preface of Sermons on Several Occasions by John Wesley, originally published in 1771).

My prayer today is that we ALL crave—yearn and pine and hunger and thirst for the living Word of God so that we will become that man/woman that God will look upon—the ones with humble and contrite spirits, the ones who tremble at His Word.

Take your study time seriously. Learn of God. Search the scriptures. Apply them to your life. Let Him reveal Himself to you in greater measure each new day.

We have a treasure at our fingertips far greater than any treasure known to mankind. Don’t neglect it!


© Jan RossAll Rights Reserved