The Fear of the Lord

 The fear of the Lord is vitally connected with us having real wisdom. The Bible says in one place that the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and here it says it is the beginning of wisdom. Either way, if we do not have the correct fear of the Lord, we can't attain wisdom. That puts us at a definite disadvantage in life. We are destined to make one error after another and commit one sin after another. The psalmist knew this truth. God showed him that when we fear the Lord we begin to know His wisdom. (Psalm 111:10) Then, he could see that those who do His commandments have a good understanding of wisdom and life. Let's dive into this truth head first, because it is so important.

What is the fear of the Lord? I don't like the word "scared" to describe this fear. I think we ought to be "afraid" of what God can and will do to us when we sin. However, to me being scared of God would keep us from having a relationship with Him, so that would stop us from having wisdom. It is like when I was growing up. I knew my Dad loved me, but I was afraid of his punishment, so I had a great incentive to obey him, which I did most of the time. We need to fear God that way, but we need to respect Him and worship Him as part of our fear for Him, too. Then, we will begin to listen to Him and learn His wisdom. We will read His commandments, and we will know we need to do them, not just know them. When we get to that point, we will have good understanding of God, His wisdom and His ways, so we can excel in life. Praise the Lord for how God is giving us His wisdom and showing us how to live abundantly in Christ.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 112-114.