Revering God
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7
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As we look at the state of the world around us, at what has happened in the past and what we may face in the year ahead, there is much to fear: Will a sniper terrorize our community as has happened in other areas? Will the bottom fall out of the economy? Will my job be jeopardized? Will there be violence at my child’s school? Fear about possibilities like these can consume us, producing increased stress and even illness. But today’s verse tells us that there is only one thing to fear—God himself. This fear is not an unhealthy fear that leads to cringing and hiding as Adam and Eve did after they had disobeyed God. Rather, it is a humble and honest recognition of God’s beauty, sovereignty, and preeminence so that worshiping and serving him take first place in our lives. It is a healthy reverence that leads to intimacy and an understanding that the power of God residing in us by his Spirit is greater than the power of our fears or of our enemy Satan. A deep sense of awe about who God is leads to the true knowledge and wisdom we desperately need for our lives today and in the year ahead.
Prayers:
LORD, develop in me a deep reverence of you that leads to life, wisdom, and greater intimacy with you. Open my heart to be teachable and to receive correction and discipline willingly. Grant that I would fear you, Father, and not my circumstances in the present or the what-ifs of the future. May I be so filled with your love that faith would replace my fear.
Quotes:
While we must never on the one hand lose the freedom to enter boldly and joyfully by faith into God’s presence during our lives on earth, we must also learn how to revere God in our relationship with him. . . . Intimacy cannot occur without respect.
John White
The One Year Bible readings for today are: Genesis 3:1–4:26; Matthew 2:13–3:6; Psalm 2:1-12 and Proverbs 1:7-9.
