The Fear of the Lord...

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7

To fear the Lord is to hate evil... Prov. 8:13

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom Prov. 9:10

He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress,
and for his children it will be a refuge. Proverbs 14:26

The fear of the Lord leads to life:
then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Prov. 19:23


Just reading through Psalms the last few weeks and there are so many verses about "the fear of Lord" and what is wise and foolish. It's interesting because one of my friends was asking me about fearing the Lord. It doesn't seem to make sense to be scared of God, like He might hurt us or is scary. But reading these verses it's definitely a different fear than just being frightened. It's a respectful fear. It makes sense that we should reverently fear the all powerful God who made us and everything around us.
It also reminds me of something I heard at a Young Life conference about fearing the Lord. When we fear God when don't have to fear anything else. The speaker, Hal Merwald, explained it using the song "Amazing Grace."
It says, "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved."
The first fear is the fear of the Lord and because we fear the Lord all other fears, of sudden ruin, of bankruptcy, of disaster, of evil, are gone.

I liked the last proverb, but I know it doesn't mean that those who fear the Lord don't experience trouble. They are untouched by trouble. Kind of like stainless steel isn't actually stain free, it just stains LESS. They are touched LESS by trouble. When we fear the Lord and troubles come they don't hit us as hard and even small troubles can hardly touch us because we don't fear and fret over them, we fear the Lord.
It's amazing that we can be content when troubles come, but God is bigger than any problem or situation that arises. He is even bigger than death.


Paul writes...
"I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippian 4: 12-14