Delight in the Fear of the Lord
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
Isaiah 11:1-3 (emphasis mine)
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.“
In this passage, Isaiah is clearly talking about the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who will come from Jesse’s generational line. Isaiah says that he will have the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might and knowledge, and not only this but he will also delight in the fear of the Lord.
This does not mean that he will delight in other people’s fear of the Lord by the way, but that he himself would have a holy reverence and fear for Father God. What?! So Christ…the very son of God…and God himself…would delight in the fear of the Lord!?
Absolutely.
Well if Christ did and still does, then how more should we? In fact, could this be the very reason why our lives fall so very short of the calling that God desires for us as disciples of him!
It seems that so much of the time we approach God with a great apathy. We think of him with mere triviality. Let’s face it, our devotional life of prayer and scripture can often be marked by a great complacency. Why? Because we don’t fear God. We simply don’t revere him.
Let’s get back to the beginning
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Proverbs 1:7
The Bible says three times within Proverbs and Psalms that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. So approaching God with a fearful and reverent posture is the very beginning of being able to live life with a godly wisdom and truthful knowledge.
Getting our hearts right before him is the first step to living a fruitful and blessed life. This is where God’s people in the Old Testament got it wrong at every step. They tried to please God externally, without having any real love or reverence for him in their hearts.
Living in the fear of the Lord
“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.”
Acts 9:31 (emphasis mine)
It says of the early church throughout every region where the gospel had spread, that they lived in the fear of the Lord, meaning it was their constant attitude and posture. Because of this posture, they enjoyed peace, were encourage by the Spirit and increased in numbers.
They lived in it.
They had peace in it
They were encouraged by it.
They grew because of it.
They delighted in the fear of the Lord.
This has been something God has been stirring in my heart lately, to live in a healthy fear of the Lord, and I would encourage you to pursue this and do likewise. This is not to live scared of God’s wrath and judgment, because we know we can approach God with freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12). This is about living with a sense of holy reverence before God.
The fear of the Lord is something which
crucifies our pride
leads us in worship
makes us yearn to know more
compels us to share the gospel
and refines and purifies our hearts.
So start living in the fear of the Lord…and delight in it! 🙂