Proverbs 19:23 states: “The fear of the Lord leads to life….”
The theme of this year’s youth Disciple-Now weekend was “Fearless”, where the youth learned what it means to have life as children of an almighty God.
Now my question for you is: do you fear the Lord? What does fearing the Lord even mean to you? Is it respect, or maybe awe, or reverence? Many times in the bible when someone was in the presence of God, they were overcome with fear. I’m not talking about respect or reverence for the Lord, I mean trembling fear for their very life because they understood how mighty He is. Just take a look at Isaiah 6:5, where he stated “Woe is me, for I am ruined!” or the apostle John in Revelation 1, where he fell at the Lord’s feet “like a dead man”. The people in the Bible didn’t stand in the presence of God and think “I must have respect for Him”; they understood His sovereignty and their sin. It was only at that point of fear and recognition of almighty God, that the Lord restored them to a fearless state. The same is true for us today, we must first recognize our sin and His sovereignty, and then once we are forgiven we can approach God fearlessly because He has made us His children. What makes us believe that we are any better than Isaiah or John, or that God is any less sovereign today? The good news is that we can live in a fearless, restored state under the shelter of the Lord, but we must first recognize just who He is. Next time you approach the throne of grace stop for a minute and reflect on just how holy and powerful our God is; there is none like Him.
Blessings,
Jeff