Perspective
( Prov. 22:17 ; Heb. 10:24 ; Ps. 128:1-4 ) Psalm shows that to be God's kind of husband and father, you must be a man that fears God. Appropriate fear of God makes a man an unusual blessing to his wife and children. The fear of God will be the soil out of which the man's positive influence will grow and the basic reason a man's family will arise and call him blessed.
Hope
( Rom. 5:9-10 ; Rom. 8:15 ; Rom. 8:17 ) If you have trusted in Christ alone for salvation and forgiveness of sins, confessing Him as Lord, the Bible says that you have no cause to be in bondage to the negative fear of God. God now is the ultimate and compassionate Father Who is the maximum husband and Father Who will give us His grace to function to the fullest as husband and father.
( Col. 2:20 ) As with Moses and Abraham, a godly Christian chooses to put God's will before everything else, including his own feelings and desires.
( Jer. 33:38-40 ; 2 Cor. 4:6 ; Eph. 1:17-19 ) It is prayer that connects us to God, and through prayer God Himself inspires us to comprehend His majesty and glory. It is He who turns on the light in the darkness of our hearts. He provides illumination in our inner man. If we are to understand His splendor by which we fulfill our responsibilities on this earth, prayer is the key, the link, the channel by which God's wisdom, strength, and ability flow through us to our families.
Change
( Ps. 46:10 ; Phil. 3:10 ; John 5:39 ; Ps. 19:7-9 ; Heb. 7:25 ) "Be still and know" the Lord means taking time to reflect on who and what God is. Jesus is the Radiance of God's glory, reflect on Jesus what He did, see how He responded to the people. Go often to the cross on which He died for your sins, proceed to the empty tomb, see Him as He arose from the dead, contemplate the throne room, see Jesus in the Presence of His Father, see Him interceding for you now, praying for you to respond to life as He did, being a blessing to your family and to others.
( 2 Tim. 3:16-17 ) Develop the attitude that God is speaking directly to you as you read the Scriptures. The Bible is God's book, it reveals His attributes, His works, His concerns, His will, His intentions, His plans His desires for His people, and His design for the world that rejects Him. See everything in the Scripture as an invitation to enter into a deeper relationship with your majestic, infinite Father and Redeemer.
Work Out Your Salvation (Phil. 2:12-13)
BSAF for Ps. 46:1,10
As you look at the following passages, ask self what is God saying about my relationship with Him? How should what I see be applied to my life and family? How well am I doing in implementing the teachings of the passage?
2 Chron. 20:7 ; Isa. 41:8 ; Jer. 2:23 ; Gen. 12:1-8 ; Gen. 13:8-9 ; Gen. 14:14,24 ; Gen. 21:10-11 ; Gen. 22:11-12 ; Rom. 4:19-21 .
What does the following teach about the excellence of God, of fearing God, what our relationship with God should be like, what place God should have in our hearts, how to develop the fear of the Lord, and what happens to the person who fears God?.
Gen. 5:22 ; Exodus 15:11 ; Exodus 34:6-7 ; Deut. 6:10-13 ; 2 Chron. 20:6-19 ; Ps. 19:7-11 ; Ps. 34:7,11 ; Ps. 128:1 ; Ps. 130:4 ; Ps. 139:1-6,13-16,23-24 ; Ps. 147:11 ; Prov. 1:7 ; Prov. 8:13 ; Prov. 14:26-27 ; Prov. 19:2-3 ; Prov. 28:14 ; Isa. 40:10-31 ; Matt. 10:28 ; Rom. 8:26-39 ; Rom. 11:36 ; Rev. 4:8-11 ; Rev. 5:9-14 ; Rev. 15:3-4 .
Reflect on what you have just studied and write out your response to this question: what difference should all this make in my own life and family relationship?
Reference: Adapted from [16][Mack2].