The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge....Proverbs 1:7
I fear the Lord. I think I fear the Lord. Yes... I definitely fear the Lord. Do I fear the Lord as much as I fear satan? I think I should. I think I should fear Him much more than satan. I probably shouldn't even fear satan...he doesn't/shouldn't have any power over me. (rabbit trail...get back to the point, Beth) Do I fear the Lord enough? What does it mean to fear the Lord? How does that give me knowledge?
This is a sneak peak into my brain as I read scripture. I have conversations with myself...sometimes I even talk out loud.
Please tell me I'm not the only one.
Well imagine my delight when I ventured into Proverbs 2 and I found out how to answer all my questions! Not only that, but it came in the form of an if...then statement. I love if..then statements. They mean if I do _____ (fill in the blank) THEN______ (fill in the blank) will happen! Easy, right?? Great for us list checkers...except for one thing. With this one, you can't just go through the motions...check, yep, got that one, check.... You've got to put your heart into it. And not just put your heart into it as in hard work, although that's part of it. You've got to put your heart into it with all the longing and desire you can muster.
Take a look at Proverbs 2:1-5
My son, IF you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your ear to understanding;
For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
THEN you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
Did you catch the hard work part? We need to receive His words...that means we better be in the Word. Not only in the word, but we need to treasure His commandments within us. For me, to treasure something within me means I need to know it really well. I can't treasure something within me that I read and promptly forget. It's got to be something I can hold on to, remember, pull out to find comfort and joy and tuck back in for the next time. I might even need to...gasp..memorize it.
I have to incline my ear to understanding. This one prompted another conversation with myself about what inclining my ear looked like, but I'll let you all work that out for yourselves.
Then comes the heart...the passionate longing heart for wisdom of the Lord.
We need to want it so much that we cry out and lift our voices begging for it. It needs to be valuable to us...a precious hidden treasure that we search and search for....because if it is... if we search as if for hidden treasure, we WILL DISCERN THE FEAR OF THE LORD AND DISCOVER THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.
Wow.
Is my heart in it? Have I truly cried out for discernment? I know I have a few times... especially when I'm hurting. Why do those two always seem to go hand in hand? How attentive is my ear? What things in my life have my heart more than learning the fear of the Lord? oh man..now I have guilt. I don't want it to be something I have to do. I want to want to do it. Have I thought of wisdom, and fear of the Lord, as a hidden treasure that I must find? Seeking hidden treasure..silver...That sounds like a book I'd read my kids. That sounds like an adventure.....
I agree with you, Beth. Sometimes we can get overwhelmed with our responsibility to roll up our sleeves and work on our lives. It would be so much easier to just have God sprinkle fairy dust on us and make us perfect. But through the process of honing our senses and pruning our lives, God allows us to be a part of the sanctification process. Our choices reveal the truth of God's Word. Isn't it funny, or should I say obvious, that when we are stagnating in life, there is a direct connection to our efforts to grow in Christ?
ReplyDeleteIt all begins with the fear of the Lord. Fear Him. Know He is God. Recognize His sovereignty and His wrath. Acknowledge His might and power. Fear Him.
Then know Him. Be in the Word and search for Him. If I've said it before, I've said it a hundred times - if you know God, obedience naturally will flow from your life. So study the Word to find God, to see Him, to know Him. Trust me, once you get started, it will be hard to stop!
Great post, Beth...thanks for sharing!