Fear; Turn!

Fear; Turn!

Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. PROVERBS 3:7 AMP

There are three parts to the same counsel that God would have us consider today. First, you cannot lay claim to the throne of your heart and at the same time expect God to come through for you. You cannot claim self-sufficiency, expecting God to let you have your own way while you demand that He keeps His own promises. If you really understand God, you know that though He gives you the free will to decide who you submit to, He makes it clear what the consequences of either choice are. You take the decision on submission with the full knowledge of what lies at the end of your decision.

Secondly, I am charged to fear the Lord. This is still connected to the first point above. Whoever you fear determines how you relate with that person. If it is God or man who holds the reins of your heart, your pursuits and priorities will reveal the truth. If God is all you fear, you have nothing and no one else to fear, but if it is man you fear, then you have everything and everyone else, including God, to fear. What, or Who, is your fear? Does God hold a special place in your heart or is He a seasonal wonder, someone you think about only when trouble comes?

Lastly, you can't have God's fear and still toy with sin. You can't depend on God's grace and not hate sin the same way God does. Sin is the reason why man lost his way and place with God, and is the reason why a high price was paid to deal with it permanently. If God did all these because of sin, imagine the punishment that lies at the end for all who reject the free gift given, and the amazing blessings that await all those who put their trust in that greatest gift given, who is Jesus Christ himself. All has been laid out; the decision, as always, is mine. His time of favour is here.