As Christians we often hear the phrase "Fear of the Lord" then we may ask ourselves "what really is the fear of the Lord?" I know I have! To fear God certainly sounds like something we maybe "should" have and we may even pretend we do have, but do we? In fact, do we really want to fear the Lord? Recently, I have asked these and many other questions pertaining to the topic and have taken my questions to the next level by searching for the answers. I believe now is good a time as any to trust that God wants and has the answers for us. Why? Because through understanding (knowledge) of who He is we also discover who he is not which protects us from beleiving all kinds of evil! I once heard it said that "if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything." That being said, I want to know what God says the fear of Him is and why it is important. These are two of the questions I have asked and the answers the bible gives; now I would like to share them with you!
The fear of the Lord is: "... a fountain of life, the fear of the Lord is pure (psalm19:9), it is to hate evil (proverbs 8:13), it is the beginning of knowledge, obedience and understanding (psalm 111:10 ). Why is it important and why should we have it? The bible says that with the fear of the Lord ... one may turn away from the snares of death, we can know Him and find favor in His sight, add length to our life, and that it teaches us wisdom. Also consider Jeremiah 5:22 when God asks, "Do you not fear me? says the Lord; do you not tremble before me? I place the sand as the bound for the sea. a perpetual barrier which it cannot pass." Why? His command to fear him is not for our sake of being mere "rule followers" but rather so you and I can KNOW Him more. In fact what I discover when I read these passages is that the fear of the Lord is not to keep us distant from Him but rather to position us for intamacy with Him. God is Love and everything he commands us to is from a place of Love and we must remember this always. Like a parent draws boundry lines for their child to protect them from harm, to give them a long, peaceful, fruitful life so does the bible instruct us to love God and keep his commands so that all may go well for us.
I'm grateful to be learning more about this important aspect of my relationship with Jesus and hope you too will be encouraged by it. If you'd like to learn more in depth about what the bible teaches about this I've found Joy Dawson's book Intimate Friendship with God through understanding the Fear of the Lord, to be very helpful.
Thanks for following Dan and me , God Bless you!
Love, Meehan
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