“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth;
unite my heart to fear Your name.”
Psalm 86:11
… ‘Unite my heart to fear Your name”, what a profound statement
David writes in this Psalm. God has been bringing me back to the ‘fear of the
Lord’. I grew up never understanding God’s grace and mercy… The past year, I
have been ministered too in a very different and quite refreshing way that
elaborates nothing but ‘truth’ and the gospel while dispersing the revelation
of grace and mercy. I am in utter thankfulness for this in my life. I no longer
am walking around in darkness and carrying a suitcase full of failures, secret
sins, fears, and worldly baggage… The grace and mercy the Lord lavishes us with
takes that away if we let Him. I have finally allowed God to be ‘God’ in my
life—if that makes any sense. So with that being said… My heart has been
gripped with an urgency of: Where is the fear of the Lord?
So many people seemed to be confused with the statement- ‘fear
of the Lord’. It’s not a scared, shaking in my boots that I’m going to be
punished by the ultimate of punishers, kind of fear if I’m not perfect. No… It
is a Holy Fear. “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who it will abide
in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil.” Proverbs 19:23
Proverbs 1:7 states, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”. Fear the Lord for His
almightiness and it is the beginning of knowledge. Respect Him. When I think of
my daddy, or influential bosses, or strong male figures in my life… I respect
them… with that naturally comes a sense of fear, a reverence of wanting to live
up to their expectations in a healthy way. I don’t want to disappoint them.
However, we are only humans and we will fall short of God’s glory… and that is
where His grace blankets us, but this is NOT a free ticket to sin with the
mentality that we’ll be forgiven. Respect and fear God more than that… He
deserves more of you than that type of weak and worldly mentality. If God has
revealed Himself to you, don’t be foolish and turn from Him when it’s
convenient for you. When the world comes chasing you… tempting you… enticing
you… and satan’s whisperings repeat how innocent it may be. When he says
‘you’re not hurting anyone… just do it. Drink that beer, click on that website,
call up that old girlfriend or boyfriend, have adulterous thoughts, flirt with
danger, you’re not hurting anyone…’ STOP. Do a ‘gut check’. What are your
intentions? How is this situation glorifying the One that saved you from your
pit of iniquity? How is this going to glorify my marriage? Would I be doing
this if my spouse were right here with me? What if my spouse could read my
thoughts? Think about that for a second… Aren’t we supposed to be transparent
with the one The Lord united us with? What if we could read ideas, or
temptations the other may be entertaining? Makes you kind of squirm in your
seat a little… Well just remember God can see and hear everything and every
idea or fantasy that you entertain. Learn to take every thought, every
temptation captive, “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts
itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to
the obedience of Christ”. 2 Corinthians 10:5.
To walk in obedience with God, to have His wisdom reign down on
you and disperse in your life starts with the ‘Fear of the Lord’. It is
essential in your personal relationship with Jesus. Pray for God to direct your
footsteps every day. Pray that His ministering angels and the Holy Spirit guide
you and help forewarn you of incoming danger (in a spiritual sense) or
temptations. Remember, we will all be tempted in our weak areas, but God does
not allow temptations to come with no way out—Call upon His name and there will
always be a way out. Satan’s main goal in this world is to ensnare you.
Especially the more you are following God’s will in your life. You will fall
under spiritual attack, but greater is He that lives in you, than he that is in
the world! You are called to something so much greater than this world and
worldly pleasures can offer. Don’t allow satan to deceive you into what seems
like innocent pleasures… he is like a snake waiting to slither in that little
cracked door of sin you’ve left open, once he’s in, he has the ability to
poison, taint, and destroy everything you treasure. Watch your environments, be
sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s promptings, and close the door to pet sins. God
wants you all to Himself… He has plans for His children, but you cannot have
one foot in the world and one foot following God, being lukewarm—he will spew
you out. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold not hot… So because you
are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.”
Revelation 3:15-16.
“Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling”.
Psalm 2:11. Bottom line: cherish ‘The Fear of the Lord’. He wants to lavish His
love and wisdom on you. He wants to continuously reveal Himself to you, He
wants YOU, all of you, all of the time…
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