Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 1:7

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Practical wisdom for living is the central concern of the book of Proverbs. Throughout these 31 chapters, Solomon gives nuggets, analogies, comparisons, and commands regarding how to live wisely in a world opposed to God. That sounds good to me!

Throughout the book, Solomon will say that wisdom starts with the fear of the Lord. It sounds nice, and you probably could have recited that, but what does it actually mean?

The fear of the Lord does not mean viewing God as a terrible monster seeking to devour us like King Kong or Godzilla! Nor is God like the deceitful serpent who leads humanity astray. To fear the Lord does not simply mean to be afraid. Yet the Bible says that God is to be feared.

The fear of the Lord is the recognition of who I am and who God is.

I am weak. He is strong.
I am finite. He is infinite.
I know some. He knows all.
I make things. He created everything.
I work. He holds all things together.

The fear of the Lord is a reverential awe of the enormity of God and the frailty of me. It is a place of humbly admitting that I am nothing before the Almighty! Not many people get to this place. So many who dwell on this earth think much of themselves and little of God. I must admit—that is me far too often.

John MacArthur defines the fear of the Lord as “a state of mind in which one’s own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds, and goals are exchanged for God’s.” It is a recognition of who I am and who He is.

Today, I encourage you to admit the many ways in which you have shrunk God in order to enlarge yourself.

Admit the ways you have acted according to your own desires and failed to look or listen to His.

Today, take another step toward “fearing the Lord” as you stand in awe of our God!