Psalm 34:5
5 They looked [nabat] unto him,
and were lightened [nahar]: and their faces [paniym] were not ashamed [chapher]. KJV-Interlinear
5
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. ESV
There are four types of
people who have an opinion regarding God.
First, there are those
who outright reject the concept of God.
They think it is all a bunch of foolishness. They believe that the universe and all of its
design is a total accident. They ignore the fact that people of past
generations are in fact dead and that they too will one day die, but they give
no thought as to what happens to them next.
All restrictions and limitations on humanity are basically ignored. In their mind they believe that there is
nothing after this life, and if they were right they gain nothing, but if they
are wrong, then they lose everything. So
their attitude is a lose, lose outcome with no hope.
Then there are those who
believe in a god, but they prefer to define their own version of god and what
they expect from him. Typically their god
is an extension of their own lusts or personal conveniences, allowing them to justify
whatever it is they want or do in life.
Some want to earn their way to god, while others want to crusade using
god as their excuse or reason for whatever it is that they believe. Their every intention is sin driven or sin
motivated. They expect that sinful man
is able to solve his own sin and correct his own path to god.
Then there are those who actually
believe in God, but they want their spiritual life to be of their own
design. The do not want to follow Gods
rules or mandates, they want to do things themselves. Their outward behavior is one of pretense or
of deception in order to draw attention to themselves. They prefer the convenience of their beliefs
over the substance of truth. They are
phony to be sure, and generally give Christianity a bad name.
And finally there are those
who believe in God, believe in Christ, believe in the scriptures as their one
and only source of information and pattern of the one and only true spiritual
life. They place doctrine first and
pursue it in order to learn all they can learn about God. They grow up spiritually and have their
priorities correct in life.
It is this last group
that is spoken of in this verse.
When life hits and God
delivers us in so many simple ways, we become radiant within our understanding
and orientation to life and to our own personal future. We have truth. We have a destiny. We have a hope based on solid truth and
reality. We have an explanation of all
of the what’s and why’s and how’s of life.
We have certainty and security.
And that all produces an inner relaxed mental attitude and confidence for
ourselves and for our future. This is
the one and only win, win situation. And
in this is never any shame or embarrassment.
