THE BENEFITS OF FEARING THE LORD

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.

Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in His commands. Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.

Even in darkness, light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous. Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor.

The wicked will see and be vexed, they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

Psalm 111:10-112:1-10

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

This statement from God’s word comes in the very last verse of the 111th Psalm and discussion of the matter continues the entire way through the next psalm, the 112th one.

We know the word of the Lord is absolute truth so there is no doubt that any person who wants to be wise starts that process when he or she fears the Lord. For when one begins to fear God, one begins to receive wisdom.

OK, fair and simple enough. But what does it mean to fear the Lord?

The Hebrew word translated to mean fear is yirah which has a variety of meanings that go a long way toward answering our question regarding how we should react and respond to the Lord. At times the word can indicate one who is afraid of some imminent danger or pain such as the Lord’s judgment or discipline in response to one’s sin. But the word also can mean feeling a sense of awe or wonder or amazement toward the Lord, a sense of reverence and respect for who the Lord is.

There is no doubt that the Lord is the Creator and we are part of the creative work of His hands. He is the Master and we are His subjects. Brilliant pastor and writer John MacArthur even goes as far to say we are slaves unto the Lord, expected to submit to the Lord and serve His every wish.

In other words, we are to bow down and surrender all we are to the Lord of lords and King of kings. The fear of the Lord brings us to that humble place and any legitimate wise person will find themselves there.

People today like to ask, “What’s in it for me?” Well, in response to this question, we only need look back to our scripture passage to see what a person can gain beyond the wisdom that we already have discussed. Consider the following:

1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of understanding.

Not just wisdom but understanding the will and way of the Lord as revealed by His Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible.

2. Blessed is the man (or woman) who fears the Lord.

When one holds the Lord in the kind of esteem He warrants, that person will find their self happy.

3. The children of those who fear the Lord will be mighty, upright, and blessed.

Note that there is a trickle down benefit to fearing the Lord. For the parents who do so will pass on benefit to their children who will be mighty, upright, and blessed.

4. The one who fears the Lord will have wealth and riches. The fear of the Lord leads to generosity and charity.

The Lord provides an abundance to those who revere and respect Him. Why? Because He knows those people will be obedient to His word and use what He gives to benefit others out of a sense of generosity and charity.

5. The fear of the Lord produces an enduring righteousness.

When we submit ourselves to the Lord and His will, the end product will be a life that consistently and persistently reflects the Lord’s righteousness.

6. One who fears the Lord will not be shaken and does not fear the dark, difficult times of life. The fear of the Lord results in a person having a steadfast heart that places its trust in God.

When we fear the Lord and see Him as ultimately in power and control, we need not fear any forces this world might bring upon us for God is greater. This is what buoys us up in hope and keeps our hearts and minds steadfast in faith, no matter how tough things might become.

7. The person who fears the Lord is gracious and compassionate.

The more we respect the Lord, the more we’ll reflect Him. And the more we reflect Him, the more others will see His graciousness and compassion through us in all we do.

8. One who fears the Lord walks and acts justly.

We saw earlier how an enduring righteousness will be embodied by one who fears the Lord. This leads to a person living right, walking and acting justly in all they do.

9. The person who fears the Lord will be remembered forever.

We tend to want to be remembered for the life that we live. One way to ensure you’re remembered for all the right reasons is to live with a fear of the Lord. When you do this, you’ll be remembered not for what you did in your name but rather for all the things you did in the name of the Lord. In other words, you’ll be remembered for the way you glorified God, not the way you glorified yourself.

10. One who fears the Lord will have the victory now and forever.

When we fully revere and respect the Lord, we praise Him and give thanks for all He has done for us, to include providing us salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It’s through this eternal promise granted to all those who place their faith and trust in Jesus, that brings us to a place of victory now and forever more.

So there you have it. The fear of the Lord is expected by the Lord Himself and we are to revere Him even if it meant we would get nothing in return.

But that’s not the way it is, is it?

No, through the scriptures we see that the Lord provides a rich bounty for all those who would fear Him. I pray you are counted in that number. For only a fool would choose to do otherwise.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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