Fear of the Lord Leads to a Fearless Life.

In this world of uncertainty and chaos, it is very easy to be afraid. The situations and people around us constantly change, making it nearly impossible to grow accustomed to anything. People whom we have come to trust will fail us...they can never even attempt to measure up to our Lord and Savior...and when we put upon them the responsibility of fulfilling our needs, we will only be disappointed. But when our faith in God's sovereignty fails in this way, He is there with open arms to receive us and restore our broken relationship with Him through the forgiveness and mercy that only He can provide...true repentance leads to change.

"They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly." --Psalm 112:7-8

Many things in this journey called "life" can cause us to worry about what is to come. I would say that the fear of uncertainty is one of the most prevalent and far-reaching fears that occurs in our lives today...it lies behind so many other issues that we have to deal with. But the beauty of it is that we don't have to deal with this fear on our own. We have a Hope. We have a Savior. We have a Redeemer. We have a Friend. We have an Advocate. We have Yahweh. And when Satan tries to discourage us and tell us that we have everything to fear, our Father is right there to defend us and lift us up above the flaming arrows that the devil is shooting at us. Satan is the Deceiver. Don't believe the lies.

"Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment." --Proverbs 9:10

Fear in this context means "reverential awe." I think sometimes, especially when you live in a culture that is saturated with conversations about our Creator, we can lose our sense of reverence for God because it becomes so natural to talk about Him in most situations. I am in no way saying that we shouldn't talk about Him in this way (because I know that you talk the most about the things you love the most), but I am saying that we need to check ourselves to make sure that when we talk about the Lord, it is with a spirit of humility, gratefulness, and worship. In the end, shouldn't we all strive for wisdom? I think that the recognition of the need for wisdom is the beginning of the search for wisdom...therefore, it takes wisdom to know that you need to seek the Lord for His wisdom. That only comes from Him.

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." --Psalm 37:23-24

He. Is. God.