The Fear of the Lord is The Beginning of Wisdom

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Proverbs 1:7

Fear: Reverential Awe . . .
Fear: Reverencing God . . .
Fear: Respect for the Lord . . .
Fear: Standing in awe of the Lord . . .
Fear: Realizing the power God has . . .
Fear: Recognizing God as the only God . . .
Fear: Acknowledging the authority of God . . .
Fear: Choosing to believe that God is truly God . . .
Fear: Attributing to Him all glory and praise . . .
this is the beginning of wisdom.

            Someone chided me the other day saying, “Anabel, aren’t you afraid of God? The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is part of our relationship with Him‘that this is necessary if we want to have wisdom.”

            If I see God as the God who struck Paul blind on the road to Damascus; if I see God as the God who parted the Sea and drowned the entire Egyptian Army; if I see God as the God who caused the walls of Jericho to crumble, and the God who destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; who turned Lot’s wife to a pillar of salt, and other such astounding, powerful acts, I would be very cautious in approaching Him‘very intimidated.
But, that isn’t how I see Him. I am not afraid of God because I see Him as Jesus, the person who opened the eyes of the blind man, who brought life to the daughter of Jarius, who was loving and tender with His mother and all of the people who sought Him. I see Him as the Person who loves me with an unfathomable love. I see Him as the only Person who knows me completely—and loves me still. I look back at all the things He has done for me, how He has guided me—especially when the going was rough and has been there for me constantly. He is my Salvation, my Strength, my Love, my Life. How could I be afraid of Him?  

            Let’s just pretend that your dad was a super dad. When you were little he held you on his lap and read to you; he sat on the side of your bed at night and talked to you and then leaned over, tucked the cover under your chin and said, “I love you. You are very dear to me.” He listened so carefully to everything you said, was involved in every area of your life, knew where you were every moment, and gave himself to protect you at all times. You‘re all grown up now. No one tucks you into bed and reads bedtime stories to you. But there are those precious memories of your Dad, asking how your day had been and understanding your views, listening to your shared secrets.  

            Well, that’s your God. Jesus said, “If you’ve seen Me, you‘re seen God.” [1] We saw Jesus in our world and we loved His compassion, His tenderness, His concern for those people in His world. So, when Proverbs says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” you immediately understand. It doesn’t mean “afraid“; it doesn’t mean hiding behind the tree so He won’t see you; it doesn’t mean being scared to death to be close to Him. No. He’s like your “super dad.”

            Can you put God in this picture? Can you see Him sitting on the edge of your bed and asking you “How was your day today?” Can you feel His tender kiss on your cheek telling you, “I love you. You are very special to me? I am so glad that you belong to Me.” Oh, we have placed Him in a very small box—or maybe a huge box‘but we don’t let Him out to reveal Himself to us. The box is carefully and securely fastened with our inhibitions and our traditions.
We can only say, “I’m sorry God. I have needed Someone like You for so long, but I’d heard so many awesome things about You that I just couldn’t see You as You really are—as I longed for You to be.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and [His] wisdom to know the difference.

Reinhold Niebuhr  

[1] John 14:9