The Fear of the Lord

On the first day of our 2024 week of prayer and fasting, we pressed into seeing the fear of the Lord come back to the Church. We need a greater measure of the fear of the Lord in our lives (both individually and collectively). Proverbs 2:1-5 reveals that this isn’t something to take lightly, and that it’s actually something we are to be very active in pursuing!

My son, if you accept my words
     and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
indeed, if you call out for insight
   and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
   and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
  and find the knowledge of God.

But…what does “The fear of the Lord” really mean? It sounds like such a spiritual phrase. What does it look like lived out in the life of a believer? And why would God, who is our loving Father, want us to fear Him?

You may be at a place in your walk with God that you have an understanding and grasp of this already. But there is no doubt that, no matter what your level of spiritual maturity is, there is room to call out for insight, cry aloud for understanding, and search for it as a hidden treasure!

Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
- Psalm 34:11

Teach me your way, oh Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.
- Psalm 86:11

What is the Fear of the Lord?

Children who grow up with a good father likely know what it’s like to have a healthy fear of him. Not in a negative way, as if they fear abuse or for their safety. But in a positive way, as if they have so much respect for him, it keeps them from wanting to do wrong. (This is partly why in some families a mom can give an instruction 5 times to a young child before they listen, but the moment a dad gives the same instruction, they obey right away!)

If he is a good father, his children will know his LOVE first, then they will also know his INSTRUCTIONS, his CAUTIONS, and his CORRECTIONS.

He’d have instructed and instilled a right way of living and strong sense of right versus wrong in his children. He’d likely occasionally caution them against the dangers inherently present if they don’t follow his instructions or if they do things they know they shouldn’t. And then, if they don’t follow his instructions and he sees them make choices that put them in harms way, he’d likely correct them in order to help set them on the right course and to keep them from harm in the future.

When done in love, all of this is for the best interest of the child. It helps them grow up safe and protected and helps keep them from straying off of a path that leads them toward a good life. The child respects their father because they know he loves them and wants what is best for them. So they listen to him because they trust him and because they don’t want to disappoint him.

This is a picture of what it looks like to fear [have a deep reverence and respect for] God. Likewise, as God’s children, we must know our Father’s love for us. If we know His love for us, and we have a deep reverence for and godly fear of Him in return, then it follows that we will obey His instructions, heed His cautions, and gladly receive His corrections—which He gives by the Holy Spirit, His written Word, and sometimes through spiritual leadership.

Like many other profound biblical truths, it’s simple. The definition of fear in this context is:
respect
reverence (deep respect for someone or something)
piety (the quality of being reverent)
reverence & respect for authority, rank, dignity

The Scriptures tell us what the fear of the Lord is:
It’s the beginning of knowledge. Prov 1:7
It’s the hatred of evil. Prov 8:13
It is wisdom. Job 28:28
It is the beginning of wisdom. Psalm 111:10; Prov 9:10
It is clean [pure]. Psa 19:9
It looks like walking in His ways, loving Him, and serving Him with all your heart and soul. Deut 10:12
It looks like departing from everything evil. Prov 16:6
It includes keeping His commandments.* Ecc 12:13

*Note: Remember there is a difference between the 10 Commandments given to the Israelites in the Old Testament and the commandments given by Jesus to His followers in the New Testament. He said in Matthew 22:36-40, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” And in 1 John 3:23, “And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as He has commanded us.”

It isn’t optional, nor something to take lightly.

Since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. - Heb 12:28-29

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. - Mat 10:28-31

What are the benefits of walking in the Fear of the Lord?

When the fear of the Lord is present in your life, you won’t continue to dabble in things you know you shouldn’t. You won’t continue letting things hold you back or allowing the enemy to steal from you. You won’t continue to be bound to the sin you’ve tried to get freed from for a long time.

When the fear of the Lord is present in your life, you’ll have a fountain of life that enables you to easily walk away from the snares of death. You’ll enjoy the friendship, provision, abundant goodness, and confidence of God…that even includes a place of refuge for your children!

It is a FOUNTAIN OF LIFE that helps one turn away from the snares of death. Prob 14:27

The FRIENDSHIP of the Lord is for those who fear Him! Psa 25:14

Those who fear Him HAVE NO LACK! Psa 34:9

There is a STRONG CONFIDENCE for those who fear Him, and THEIR CHILDREN WILL HAVE A REFUGE! Prov 14:26

There is an ABUNDANCE OF HIS GOODNESS which He has STORED UP for those who fear Him! Psa 31:19

By the fear of the Lord, there is POWER TO BE SET FREE from addictions and sins! Prov 16:6

We pray that the prayers we lifted up for you and for Ashford this week stir something in your spirit that brings a hunger for and revelation of the fear of the Lord, and that you begin to see it present in your heart in such a way that you notice how it impacts your thoughts, your words, and your actions more and more. May the fear of God be sufficiently present to stop us from wandering from the truth, and may it cause each one to depart from evil!

By Dawn Kopa