Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. NKJV – Dreadful, exceedingly, fear, 3374

This post is a bit long, but it has been on my heart for months. I’d appreciate your comments.

The beginning of any building is the foundation. What we believe about God is the foundation of not only our faith, but of our daily life. It flavors all our choices. It guides all our purchases. It  seasons our interactions with our friends and family. And most importantly, it defines our outlook on life.

If we get the foundation wrong, all of life will be skewed. If it is only off a little, the discrepancy may not be noticed right away. But keep going with that skewed view and it will develop into a much bigger influence in our lives.

Crisis situations will reveal our foundation. Will our faith stand? Will it crumble? What is our foundation?

The Bible tells us what is the beginning of wisdom, the foundation of wisdom. It is not correct theology. It is not having our daily devotions without fail. Fine sounding sermons will not affect us as much if our foundation is on shaky ground. 

Do we understand the instability of a wrong foundation? Are we so foolish as to build our faith on nice sounding words? Could this be the reason for false teachings being allowed in our churches? Could it be why we carelessly allow sin in our lives or whitewash sin?

Psalm 111:10 Tells us that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. This is not a nice sounding reverence. Oh no. It is a dread of facing the Ineffable One. It is shaking inside with exceeding fear. Afright.

When was the last time we stood in awe of the presence of God? Trembling. Awestruck by His majesty.

Both the Old Testament and the New Testament have many references to the fear of God. It lays a foundation for our relationship with God. 

To me, a volcano erupting is awe inspiring. It is so powerful and is capable of causing enormous destruction. To watch lava spew into the air makes one keep their distance from such an awful thing. Just to see the boiling lava escape through the cracks in the earth is enough to make me afraid. Afraid of its power to destroy. Nothing and no one is immune to its destructive power if they get too close.

It reminds me of God telling Moses to tell the people to keep their distance from the mountain lest He break through and they are killed. God tells us that He is a consuming fire. We don’t want to think of Him in that way. We want to think of His kindness, faithfulness and everlasting love. Those are all attributes of God, but so is His holiness and His power to destroy those who rebel against Him.

Moses told the people in Exodus 20 after giving them the ten commandments to not fear the Lord that they might learn the Fear of God.  

Maybe if we truly feared God we wouldn’t fail so much. We have no excuse to fail as a believer.  We allow our flesh to dominate when we indulge the flesh giving into some temptation. But the Bible leaves no room for flesh. It is the enemy of God. Yes, God is holy and demands holiness, but according to 2 Peter 1:3 He also gives us all we need for life and godliness. That is a promise. So there is no excuse. The question then is, do we fear God enough to be authentic, sincere Christians?

You see, I think we make excuses for our flesh because we want to sin. Oh yes, James tells us that we sin when we are drawn away by our own lusts. Now that is blunt. Harsh. Truth. But if we feared God as much as we fear a volcano, maybe we would choose not to sin. He is more powerful than a volcano. He is the power behind that volcano. He is the power in our sun. He is the power that keeps us living. If He withheld His breath all living things would die. We owe our next breath to Him.

He is both loving and holy. He wants to do good things for us, but He looks to help those whose heart is wholly His. Completely loyal to Him. Making no excuses. Allowing for not the least little sin in our lives.

I believe when we truly fear God with a quaking, trembling awe then we would understand our great, great need for His mercy. It is only when we comprehend our sinfulness, our vileness compared to His holiness, that we can fully appreciate His mercy. We will be so relieved to know we are forgiven. We will love Him greatly, because knowing how vile we are, He still greatly loves us.

However, to get there we must begin with the fear of God. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. That is the beginning. The foundation of a believer’s faith. Any other foundation will crumble. It might last for a while, but it will not stand in the end. Nothing and no one can shake a firm foundation.

If we live our lives like the disciples in the book of Acts, we will always live with joy knowing that the fear of God is a real thing. It is what keeps them from going astray. It makes His mercy so precious. We will always be aware of the holy being that can destroy us if He chose. At the same time knowing His infinite mercy. 

Serving God with reverence and holy fear is the admonition of the writer of Hebrews. Dreading having to face a holy God on our own will keep us looking to Jesus for our acceptance with the Father. Trusting only in His merit dare we approach His throne. Isn’t it so great that we have the righteousness of Jesus as a covering when we approach the Holy Throne of God? 

Every time we pray we are approaching the Holy Throne of God where there are lightnings, thunderings, brilliant light and fire. Cautiously, yet with boldness, we can approach the throne of God,  believing that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who trust Him. 

Trusting Him, this powerful consuming fire to keep His word because of our faith in His Son Jesus Christ as our righteousness, we can approach the Lord God Almighty.

As the foundation is crucial to the strength of a building, so the fear of God is to a strong faith. It is essential. Crucial. Without it we wander along paths of half-truths. 

Words to light your path this week

The following references are just a few of the many in the Bible. If you are interested, you might search the scriptures for more.

Exodus 20:20 And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” NKJV

• Dread, reverence, affright, 3372

1 Kings 8:40 that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You gave to our fathers. NKJV

• Dread, reverence, affright, 3372

Psalms 86:11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. NKJV

• Afraid, fearing, 3372

Isaiah 33:6  Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure. NKJV

• Dreadful, exceedingly, fear, 3374

Acts 9:31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. NKJV

• Fear, reverence, awe, exceedingly afraid, 5401

2 Corinthians 7:1  Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. NKJV

• Fear, reverence, awe, exceedingly afraid, 5401

Hebrews 12:28  Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. NKJV

• Caution, reverence, dread, 2124

1 Peter 2:17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. NKJV

• Make afraid, fear, reverence, awe, 5399

Revelation 19:5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!” NKJV

• Make afraid, fear, reverence, awe 5399

Reference numbers are from The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D., Nelson Reference & Electronic, 1996