Fear of the Lord

Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. ~ Proverbs 9:10

Did you ever wondered what fear of the Lord meant?  For the longest time, and because I had no access to the priest’s sermon during my childhood, I could not quite understand why the Bible said we were to fear the lord. Be  scared of Him? Tip-toe around Him? Be afraid He’s going to bite?  Would he cast a spell upon me if I did something wrong? My thoughts went in circles for so many years as I tried to understand. 

Interestingly, this phrase — fear of the Lord — is mentioned over 300 times in the Bible.

It wasn’t until just a few years ago when I finally understood — and suddenly it made perfect sense. 

Fear of God, not Man. The fear of man brength a snare; but whose putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe. – Matthew 10:28

I asked a few of my closest friends what they thought this phrase meant. Their answers varied:

“Reverence for God.”

“Acknowledging His divine authority and striving to live in accordance with His teachings.”

“He is holy! Revere Him, acknowledge His ways, and what He has done for me! His ways are higher than mine.”

“Respect, honoring God.”

For so many years, I worried about what earthly people said about me. I worried about what I needed to do to make them happy.  I focused on pleasing them and submitting to earthly people rather than submitting to our Lord first and foremost.

Don’t be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life – body and soul in his hands. – Matthew 10:28

I noticed when I don’t honor God, my heart is heavy. My soul is troubled. I lack the peace I need.  When I began to put God first before earthly people, the rest flowed with wisdom, love and grace. When I please my Heavenly Father, my soul is at peace, and life flows in perfect harmony.  That’s exactly what God wants. By acknowledging Him, His wisdom, and His words, and obeying Him, then all is calm and well on earth. Honoring our Lord brings wealth, wisdom, love, grace, and peace.

I don’t know about you, my dear friends, but wouldn’t you much rather fear the Lord and gain His wisdom in order to have peace, especially in the current state of the world? 

I encourage you to seek God first. Seek His wisdom, His words, His love and His grace.  It’s what our soul needs.