“The fear the Lord is the beginning…” (Prov. 1:7).
In the beginning of the book of Proverbs, Solomon lays out a lot of synonyms that may leave us scratching our heads. We may wonder what is “discernment?” What’s the difference in “knowledge” and “wisdom?” Even the word “understanding” amid all the other similar ideas might leave one void of the very thing we’re reading about. (You can explore these deeper in chapter one of my book in progress, Seeing in the Dark. Follow my website for updates. https://royaldiademinhishands.wordpress.com )
I was in my early twenties when I became fully aware of my sinful nature. I hated the person in the mirror and despised my existence. I went to church because that’s what everybody does on Sunday in the Bible belt, but I rushed out as fast as possible every Sunday because I was afraid someone would see my brokenness. The best I could do was put on the right clothes and the right face and act like everything was fine, but I was a counterfeit. Shame and pride choked the hope from me, and my hidden habits morphed into strongholds. Fear, shame, and pride danced around me – a triune evil celebration over hell’s captive. Eventually, my behavior birthed consequences that I could not hide and when the pain inside was so bad I thought I’d die, I cried out to the Lord for help.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning.
You may have a different story. Maybe you’d been in church since birth and came to understand the concept of eternal separation at a young age and made a decision for Christ early on.
Whatever reason we set out on our journey with Jesus, whether circumstance or an understanding of the eternal separation that awaits us in death without Him, it all begins with the fear of the Lord.
But if our journey with Jesus begins with the fear of the Lord, what comes afterward?
But John says in 1 John 4:18 that there is no fear in love and perfect love casts it out.
We may set out with Him because we are scared. But we don’t stay that way.
I was scared when I saw how powerless I was against my sin. I cried out for a Savior. He was faithful to His Word. He took me in just as I was and the only thing He required was for me to trust in Him. He was patient with me when I continued in sin. He purged me over time through the kind of chastening that only comes from a Fatherly love. He was longsuffering in my stubbornness. He was generous to grant me undeserved liberty and let me go so far before He reigned me in again with more chastening.
I ran from His presence. I was ashamed and thought He must be too.
But one day, in my most wretched state, I began to confess the true state of my heart. I walked right into the throne room covered in filth and said, “Lord, if I’m ever going to break out of this prison, You are going to have to open the door and carry me out.” I kept confessing my sins to Him. When I would do wrong, I would tell Him I was sorry and ask Him for forgiveness.
And one day, Jesus walked right into my prison, and carried me out, and I was no longer a slave to fear.
1 John 4:18 says, “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
I cried out to Him to save me from myself, and he destroyed my fear too.
If the fear of the Lord is the beginning, the end is simply this: to abide in His perfect love.
Leave a Reply