Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."
According to https://www.wordsoflife.co.uk/bible-studies/study-1-living-in-the-fear-of-the-lord/ fearing the Lord leads to many things. I'm going to share their list of things, and go into further explanation of each thing. All credit to this list goes to the website linked above!!
1. Fearing the Lord implies that we have begun to know the Lord.
I really like this point because I think it's true. When we begin to fear God, we begin to learn about who He is.
Think back to Jonah, and what happened when he didn't listen to God and ran away from Nineveh. God had a great fish swallow Jonah, and Jonah stayed in that fish for three days. As many times as we have heard this story, have we really, truly thought of how scary that would be. First off, there was a great storm when Jonah was on the boat with the other men. I don't know about you, but I don't like storms. I'm very grateful to have a roof and walls around me during storms because lightning and thunder can be scary.
And if you don't think storms are scary, then try being stuck in a fish/whale for three days straight! Even though we don't get stuck in fish like Jonah did, just thinking about it makes me realize that was probably scary. Jonah knew what he had done wrong at this point, and after those three days in the fish, he went straight to Nineveh after God told him to go again.
If you don't learn a lesson from being afraid of the Lord, you don't know Him. He is loving, but He cares so much about us that sometimes He punishes us. Not in a bad way though. Actions have consequences, and God always forgives.
2. Fearing the Lord fills us with great assurance.
I'm confused by this point. And, to be honest, I've never really understood fearing the Lord as being a good thing. I don't want to be afraid of God because I trust Him. But, after reading the first reason why fearing the Lord leads us closer to Him, I understood. I can't explain this point because I'm confused by it, but I'm going to add a couple verses that will hopefully back this point up.
Proverbs 14:26 says, "In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have refuge."
Ecclesiastes 8:12-13, "Though a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, yet I know that it will be well with those who fear God, because they fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked, neither will he prolong his days like a shadow, because he does not fear before God."
Psalm 34:7, "The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them."
3. Fearing God helps us to listen to Him.
I think this point goes back to point one. When Jonah feared the Lord, he learned more about following Him, and listening to Him. God pushed Jonah towards the right way, and Jonah, sinful like all of us, learned to listen to God. He felt ashamed of running away from God, and he told the people of Nineveh of God.
Okay, so that's going to be all for today's blog post! I really hope some of these points made sense to you. Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."
God will always forgive, but sometimes He will push us in the right direction by showing us how to learn from our mistakes. It's okay to make mistakes because you can learn from them. Don't think that God is being mean when He is showing you to learn from your mistakes.
Have a great day, and always remember God loves you! The quote of the day is..."The past will come up, it will make its visits to your life here and there, don't let it unpack its bags. You're not that person anymore. God's love is too good for you to stay there."
Now, take that encouragement with you today! ~Ella
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