July 21: “What Does ‘The Fear of the Lord’ Mean?”

4 Minute Read

TODAY’S BIBLE READING:

2 Chronicles 4:1–6:11
Romans 7:1-13
Psalm 17:1-15
Proverbs 19:22-23

TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Proverbs 19:23 (CSB) ” The fear of the Lord leads to life; one will sleep at night without danger.”

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):

My family visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona two years ago.

The sites were incredible! And pictures don’t do it justice. It’s just too massive and the canyons are too deep to capture in a picture. That’s why I took a video – to tried to help those who have never been there to experience it.

Virtually everyone would agree that the Grand Canyon is breath-taking. It is beautiful!

But, part of the experience is fear. It is beautiful but it isn’t to be trifled with. An average of 2-3 people fall to their death each year. But, as long as you respect the rules of gravity, your heart may race but you will be free to enjoy the experience.

That is what the “fear of the Lord” is like. It is an experience of Almighty God Himself. But, included in that experience is a healthy fear. Experiencing God is what our souls long for, it brings us our greatest joy, but He isn’t to be trifled with. But, as long as we abide by the rules He has laid down before us, we are free to enjoy the experience.

So, what does the fear of the Lord lead to?

Proverbs 19:23 (CSB) ” The fear of the Lord leads to life; one will sleep at night without danger.”

Simply stated, when we are enjoying our God, our soul is being satisfied with Him, and our healthy fear of Him motivates us to comply with His commands, we will be free to enjoy the one life He’s given to us. Our conscience will be clear and we will be able to rest in the fact that He’s got everything under control. Even when bad things happen to us, we know that it had to be permitted by Him before it got to us.

Friend, the fear of the Lord is where it all begins (see Proverbs 9:10). When we get this right, everything else will begin to fall into place.

Realize that we ultimately cannot consistently comply with God’s commands. Daily, we break God’s laws. And this is not a trivial thing because our God loves holiness and must punish lawbreakers. So, we rely upon what Jesus has done on our behalf on the cross. We trust in Him, not ourselves, to ultimately make us right in God’s eyes. Then, motivated by love and gratitude, we comply with God’s commands.

One more thing – realize that on the road to holiness, there are two ditches on either side. On one side is “Law” and on the other side is “Grace.”

If your focus is only on God’s commands and your inability to comply with them, you may become a legalistic (or live with perpetual guilt) and fall into the Law ditch.

But, if your focus is on God’s grace and you presume upon it as you remain apathetic regarding your pursuit of personal holiness, then you will become an antinomian (“anti-law”) and fall into the Grace ditch.

A true, balanced Jesus-follower remains on the road to holiness and balances Law and Grace. The Law provides the boundaries and Grace gives us freedom to joyfully follow the Lord and receive forgiveness along the way.