"God answers my prayers everywhere except on the golf-course."
Psalm 128
Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. Psalm 128:1 Did you know that the United Nations publishes a “World happiness index”? Norway, they conclude, is the country where people are happiest, Burundi the least happy (By the way USA is 14th and UK 19th!) There are happiness festivals and a plethora of books on inner harmony, mindfulness etc.The Psalmist suggests that the starting point is to fear God and obey him. Don’t misunderstand the concept of fearing God. It is not about being terrified of him. It is about knowing your place and giving him the respect he deserves. It is a Christian paradox that we gain true freedom by surrendering our will to God.
Walking in obedience to God is about recognizing God’s authority, about accepting that God knows best.
Paul puts it this way in Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will”. Walking in obedience to God is about recognizing that God’s way is good, pleasing and perfect.
We cannot avoid the “why do bad things happen to good people” question. Premature death of a loved one, injury, loss of form at key period of your life etc are hard to deal with. Fearing God doesn’t make everything instantly OK. Fearing God does, however, mean that we know that God is with us.