and great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. [acts 5:11]
fear of the Lord – is a good thing for his sons and daughters.
the friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, [ps 25:14]
behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, [ps 33:18]
but the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, [ps 103:17]
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; [ps 111:10]
you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord! [ps 1335:20]
the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; [prov 1:7]
the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. [prov 8:13]
in the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, [prov 14:26]
the fear of the Lord leads to life, [prov 19:23]
what does it mean to fear the Lord?
the word fear in the hebrew (the language of the old testament) means to have an overwhelming dread of something. and it can mean to have an overwhelming awe of something that attracts you to it. i believe to rightly fear the Lord – there is both for his sons and daughters.
- we are overwhelmed by his holiness and the consuming fire of his being. we see in scripture that he is Almighty, All-powerful, Majestic, Holy God! there is a famous line from the “lion, witch and the wardrobe” which describes God in this way. the question is asked, “is he safe?” and the response is, “who said anything about safe. ‘course he isn’t safe. but he is good. he’s the King, i tell you.” our God is overwhelming. face to face one day, i believe we will bend our knee in fear … and love!
- we are awed by his greatness and drawn to him because of it. there is something about the glory of God that bends every knee in the bible – every knee. but there is also something about the glory of God that makes people like moses say, “i want to see your glory.”
mountains and oceans do this to us in much smaller ways.
they are majestic, great, overwhelming and attract us to them because of their majestic beauty. but, … caught out on them, unprotected, alone – their power brings great fear. i believe this is but a tiny glimpse of the fear of the Lord.
fear of the Lord – is a good thing for his sons and daughters.
may you grow in it today. may the Lord become more beautiful and more powerful in your eyes. ask him for this. he will not say no to this prayer!
o Lord, today –
give us a greater vision for your awesome and glorious self. may we see you as more beautiful and more powerful than ever before. may we rightly fear you. may we rightly worship you as King, Almighty, Creator, Holy God! yes Lord, grow our vision of your greatness! in Jesus name – amen!
~ john ryan