Dear Friends,
Psalm 34 is one of my favorite
Psalms. Listen to some of the wisdom of the Psalmist. “I sought the Lord, and
He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” (v.4).
“The angel of the Lord encamps all
around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (v 7).
“Oh, fear the Lord , you his
saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.” (v. 9).
“Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (v. 11).The fear of the Lord was so
important to Solomon that he wanted to pass it on to all his family.
King Solomon put it this way in
explaining his reason for writing the book of Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge” ( Proverbs 1:7).
There is no mistaking the repeated
commands in the Bible to “fear the Lord.”
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
It doesn’t mean that God wants us to be afraid of Him. When the Bible talks
about fearing God, it is usually referring to an attitude of reverence and
respect, not outright terror.
A healthy fear of God includes the
fear of the consequences of disobedience. There may be times of temptation or
trial when we may forget some of the better reasons for obeying God, and that
is when we really need to think of and to fear the consequences of
disobedience. In Exodus 20:20, Moses exhorts his people, “Don't be afraid, for
God has come in this way to test you, so that your fear of Him will keep you
from sinning!”
To walk in the fear of the Lord
means that we should possess a healthy respect and a reverence for our Creator.
It means that we should recognize the benefits and the blessings of walking in
His footsteps while recognizing the pit falls of failing to (fear) and respect
Him.
Oswald Chambers was spot on when he
states: “The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you
fear nothing else.”
While it is true, as quoted that
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, (Pro.1: 7a), it is equally as
true that “fools despise wisdom and discipline (Pro.1: 7b).
We can choose to walk the path of
wisdom or the path of folly.
When we come to the fork in the
road, I want to always chose the path of a “fear” filled faith, and I hope you
do too.
Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom
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