Fear of the Lord
July 19 , 2006

“The fear of the Lord leads to life; And he who has it will abide in satisfaction. He will not be visited with evil.” Proverbs 19:23 (NKJV)

One version says that the one who possesses the fear of the Lord will sleep satisfied, being untouched by evil. Many of us who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ do not fully understand or appreciate the blessing of this promise. The fear of the Lord is a treasure for the believer to possess. Fearing God is when we are fully aware of the conscious presence of God’s power, God’s authority, and God’s Word in our lives to the point that governs how we act and think. To fear God is to hold Him in great respect to the point that we consider Him in all that we say, think, and do. Considering Him is not simply knowing His heart, but it is desiring to please His heart when we discover His will.

Much of the evil we are touched by comes at our own invitation. This is why Solomon says that when we fear the Lord, we do not have to fear evil. Our trust and respect for God’s place and position in our lives is so much greater than any evil thing on earth, that those things simply do not hold power over us. Remember David’s encounter with Goliath? King Saul was overcome with the evil of a man. David was overcome with the greatness of his God! The problem comes when we fail to choose the fear of the Lord. It is a heart choice to believe what God says about Himself and His involvement in our lives. He says that our ways are always before Him. He says that He will finish the work He began in us, even if He has to allow pain to touch us to get us to the place of His destiny. The problem is we do not always connect the dots. We do not realize that what is happening in the natural actually has God’s hand in the middle of it. Sometimes God is directing, correcting, or maturing us and we are not aware of it. Our testimony becomes the testimony of Jacob. “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16) When we don’t live life in the conscious shadow of the God who is with us, we live life as an atheist. We become someone who sees life as a series of random events that have no greater purpose.

According to our text, the fear of the Lord will always lead to life for you and me. It will shut the door to evil to the point that even in our sleep, we do not have to worry. It becomes a restraint to wrong behavior, a filter to wrong emotions, and a caution to wrong relationships. Thank you, Lord, for this promise. Reverencing, respecting, and acknowledging God for who He reveals Himself to be keeps life in its proper place. It truly is the beginning of wisdom and allows me to enjoy life as the God who calls Himself my father, always intended it to be.