The Devotional – 1460 – The Fear of the LORD!

The Devotional – 1460 – The Fear of the LORD!

Proverbs 14:26-27 – In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence and His children will have a place of refuge. The Fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to avoid the snares of death.

Comments and challenges

If you do not like heights then the fear of climbing can be something hard to overcome. Earlier in life as a deck hand on surface ships I had less fear of going up and down a mast that supported the large radars of those days. As the years wore on I enjoyed going over the side of the ship to preserve and paint the hull. Then for nearly fifteen years while serving on submarines there were the ladders instead of the stairway.

Fear however is not about me; everyone has a breaking point when fear approaches. It may not be height, but all of us share in the fear of something. I used height because over time I have watched this fear develop in me. For you of course, if you care to look will see this development too, maybe not of height, but of bugs, odd looking people or some other matter that causes you to want to turn and run.

We have been looking at the Fear of the LORD for a while now and it may be good once again to seek additional biblical investigation. This is one thing about the study of the Holy Bible, Truth is so rewarding, (progressive and profitable) that we could never exhaust or reach the peak of the Wisdom of God. Two verses come to mind here; Deuteronomy 29:29 and 1 Corinthians 1:25. So right from the start it should be no wonder to us that the Fear we are to have in God should never be that of panic.

The Living Word of God does not teach us how to be afraid of God, but it does teach us how to know and love God; but not on our terms (human effort) but on His terms (Spiritually). Remember too that human effort is temporary while Spiritual integrity is eternal. A good definition of what I am seeking to say was written out for us by the apostle John who in AD 90 and who no doubt was ninety years of age says this about fear.

1 John 4:17-19 – Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

Now this may be hard to understand, but these few verses give us a “right perspective” of the Fear of the LORD. The storms of life are many, should I take the time to look, no I will not; the key of this small portion of words from 1 John is in the last sentence. “We love Him because He first loved us”. Now take the moment and think, did you love your husband or wife right from the beginning, or did that love develop out of fear and in time.

God’s love is different, He loved you before you knew Him personally, and it may be that fearing God was a large part of being separated from Him for many years. God’s love means that He is relaxed about YOU, while you are not relaxed about HIM. This verse should help; Romans 5:8 explains that God took the first step in proving His love to us. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Our LORD is our confidence, or we can say; Our LORD is our Fear.

Do you not see that we live in a very dangerous environment, why just one element of the world is enough to destroy every living member of the earth? Water, fire, wind, atmosphere and this does not include the real enemy. SIN! So in one sense, we are born to love “death” or “sin” both words mean the same, and before knowing God, we fear Him who lives forever. Yet and because God’s mercy is renewed every morning we are not consumed or condemned to death, but for as many who believe, to these He gives the right to become the children of God. John 1:11-13.

The turning point of being afraid of God (a wrong sense of fear) comes when our soul focuses on the truth that causes our mind to express from our lips, these wonderful words. “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. And say, “save us, O God of our salvation; Gather us together, and deliver us from the unbelieving, to give thanks to Your holy Name, to triumph in Your praise.” 1 Chronicles 16:34-35.