The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
” Fearing ” the Lord in the biblical sense of the word is not being afraid of Him, nor is it being afraid that the Lord is going to destroy you because of your sinful nature.
Believers are not to be scared of the Lord. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing the Lord means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of the Lord is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe.
PROVERBS 8:13 ” The Fear of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance and the evil way. And the perverted mouth, I hate.
As we fear the Lord and honor Him desiring to do His will, the Lord will then give us His wisdom, and insight so that we can discern right from wrong, and have good success in all that we do.
A biblical fear of the Lord, for the believer, includes understanding how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment. Even in the life of a believer.Hebrews 12:5-11 describes the Lord’s discipline/chastisement of the believer. While it is done in love (Hebrews 12:6), it is still a fearful thing. As children, the fear of discipline from our parents no doubt prevented some wrong choices. The same should be true in our relationship with the Lord. We should fear His discipline, and therefore seek to live our lives in such a way that pleases Him.
Dear Lord, may we know your wisdom, the true wisdom, the spiritual wisdom that you give to those who come into a right relationship to you through Jesus Christ who reverentially fear you. Who worship you as an awesome God and who are committed to obey.
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5 15-16
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice. Psalm 37:30
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. Proverbs 3:7
