A Deep Respect

"Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

Proverbs 9:10

 

It is easy for all of us to misunderstand when we are told to have fear for the Lord.  Are we supposed to be scared and fearful of our heavenly Father?  Are we to be walking on egg shells, so to speak, in fear of His holy wrath and anger?  When we hear the word 'fear' I think it can throw us for a loop.  If we think about fear in a worldly sense of something to be scared of then this verse becomes really discouraging.  Thinking of fear in that sense, it would be hard to achieve any hope of gaining wisdom of godly understanding without being scared all the time!  That doesn't sound like the loving, merciful, and grace-filled message of the scriptures, and its because that is not the message here.  Fear for the Lord, in the scriptures, has to do with reverence.  Reverence has to do with a deep respect for someone or something.  So what we are being told is that in order to begin to walk in godly wisdom, it starts with a deep respect for who God is.  Having a reverence towards the Lord is completely linked with knowledge and wisdom.  The more knowledge we have of who our heavenly Father is, the more reverence we will have for His loving character, and in turn the more we walk with wisdom in our lives.  But, this process starts with reverence towards God.  We must have a deep respect for all of His character; His love, mercy, justice, grace, patience, instruction, and discipline.  We must understand and know that although we live in a broken world, we can have a deep respect for God's faithfulness in our lives.  When we start with reverence for our Savior in mind, then we have the beginning of wisdom.  This is because we see the Lord for who He is and we begin to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.  Knowledge and understanding of the Holy One is an important part of wisdom that is motivated by our fear of the Lord.  When we have reverence for God, we read His word to know more about Him, and we are keen to the teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  This makes way for understanding, and then ultimately, makes a way for us to gain godly wisdom in our lives.  But this all starts with a deep respect for our Lord and Savior.  The more we learn about His unconditional and sacrificial love for us, the more we revere who He is, and the more we are motivated to be like Him!  Today, pray and ask the Lord for teaching and guidance by the Holy Spirit.  Take time to meditate on God's character and what He has done, continues to do, and will do in and through your life.  He is always faithful!  He is always just!  And He is always loving!  Love you all!  Praying for you and yours!  Have a blessed day, it's your choice!