DAY 43 - UNDERSTANDING FEAR
ZACH ATWOOD, YA EVENTS & OPERATIONS TEAM LEAD
“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” Psalm 34:11-14
If you work with me or have ever been looped into one of my party-planning group messages, you know that I love tasks. I love being able to divide and conquer, I love being able to plan out all the details, and I love being able to check off that little box when something gets accomplished. I might have issues, but at least they are productive issues?
So when it comes to major Biblical principles, I love being able to create tasks and ways to carry them out in my daily life (balancing statement; you cannot make these tasks your idols or your benchmarks for being a good Christian, but you have to see them as a way to become more like Christ-like).
In the Christian community, we talk a lot about the “fear of God”; it’s the beginning of wisdom and knowledge, it’s the fountain of life, it leads to confidence and faith, it brings blessings, etc. But what exactly is the fear of the Lord and how can we walk in it?
Stealing from Connor’s Day 26 Devo, “That phrase, ‘fear of the Lord’ is such a layered phrase. In some respects, it speaks to an actual fear of judgment from a perfect and holy God, but when you dig deeper it means so much more. The fear of the Lord can also be understood as the awe and honor of the Lord. To be so in awe of Jesus that every other endeavor in life pales in comparison.”
Taking that definition and the verse above, we can start ‘tasking’ out how to learn and live out the fear of the Lord.
“Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord”
Task: listen to the Bible and Psalmist.
“Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.”
Task: don’t let your words allow you to lie, cheat, or carry out evil.
“Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
Task: avoid the things of this world and pursue His goodness.
So in order to learn about the fear of the Lord, we listen to wisdom from the Bible and others, we watch what we say and speak life instead of death, and we avoid the evil things of this world and pursue Him. Is learning the fear of the Lord this elementary? YES!
Just like any subject in school, this is the foundational lesson. As we grow in this, we begin to learn more about Him and we grow in our relationship with Him. So take it slowly; read your Bible, listen to some podcasts, stop telling lies, speak truth, avoid the bad things of the world, and pursue Him (and if you’re confused on what is a lie and what is evil, ask Him! He’s got the answers!)