Psalm 111:10

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; Psalm 111:10
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil Proverbs 8:13
The fear of the Lord prolongs days, Proverbs 10:27
In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence Proverbs 14:26
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life Proverbs 14:27
Better is a little with the fear of the Lord Proverbs 15:16
And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil. Proverbs 16:16
The fear of the lord leads to life Proverbs 19:23

When I was a child I learned how to “fear the Lord” by first learning to respect and honor my parents. There was always a consequence for my disobedience. I learned to “walk the line” by knowing that judgment would come my way if I made poor choices. Later on this step in my learning process translated to an understanding that my choices as an adult still lead to judgment – or to blessing. So often we have a poor understanding of the heart of God because of the unhealthy things we’ve experienced as children. We wind up believing that fearing God means being afraid of Him.

God loves us and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. He wants to bless us and He knows what is and isn’t good for us. He’s given us His Word so we can choose to walk in the way of blessing and righteousness. The “fear of the Lord” is not about an angry God who wants to hurt you, but a loving father that wants to help you walk in the way of blessing. In our culture today, fear of the Lord can best be translated as honor, respect, and reverence. When we declare that God is smarter than we are, wiser than we are, and knows the beginning from the end; when we follow His Word and trust Him when we don’t understand we are “fearing the Lord.” These things aren’t always easy to do, but they are the way of wisdom and blessing. Following His Word is our hope and joy. Sometimes we’ll understand and sometimes we’ll walk by faith, but in it all we’ll be blessed and the fruit of the Spirit will be our portion.