The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 9:10 KJV
The Context:
Again, we come to Proverbs, a book of one-line nuggets full of wisdom. Today's extract speaks about a kind of fear: the fear of the Lord. If it refers to the fear of God, it means that there are other types of fear. It means that there is a kind of fear that is good, and another type that is not. It is therefore important, and of eternal value, that I know what kind of fear is good for me to have and the type I need to avoid. We look at the right kind today; when you have that, the other kind does not have a hold over your heart. If you do not have the right type, your heart becomes the breeding ground for all variants of the wrong type.
And the man credited with writing these words-Solomon- would know. He asked God for wisdom to rule Israel, and God gave him all that he asked for and even more. Kings and mighty men of his time travelled across the world to listen to his wisdom. He made great impact on his own generation, but for all of us who have read his story, there is also a lesson to be learnt: what keeps you isn't what men say about you, but how your heart handles the things of God. Men may applaud; is God also approving? Men may praise and seek to honour you; would God do the same to you? Learn from the life of Solomon - don't focus so much on the outside that there is no impact on the inside. Let God build you from the inside out, so that you can be an instrument and an altar from which His glory and grace can be made manifest.
The Message:
Your level of fear of God will drive the depth of your devotion to Him. What kind of fear rules your heart? Your heart cannot be empty or without a control centre; the devil will have us think you can have an empty throne in your heart, or one where you are the master of your own destiny. That is the deceit of the devil, where he tries to get you to look away from his activities and focus on yourself. That is the raw material for pride, and with pride comes self - dependence, which can never please God. When God is at the foundation and sits on the throne of your heart, He births total dependence on Him. You go to Him for all decisions, because you know that He knows and understands the past, present and future. That is the foundation of true wisdom.
To know God and His demands for my life is fundamental to having an understanding of his expectations for me. Knowing God means having a clear idea of what He loves and hates and planning my pursuits and priorities accordingly. I cannot understand a God I do not spend time with, and I cannot know a God whose likes and dislikes I ignore or choose when to align. If it is not total devotion, it is not acceptable to God. God does not do half-measures.
In today's extract, all the three key words are present: wisdom, knowledge and understanding. All three are tied to and related to my walk with God. These words are not products of the world's manipulation, but there are variants the world will promote as the real deal. If you don't know God, you cannot identity the original. If you know God, His fear in your heart will keep you away from the false variants.
The Response:
What does God expect from me then? He wants me to seek Him out and strive to know Him. This will take time and effort, but when I am focused on the right things, the devil has no way to distract me. The journey to eternity with God starts with knowing this God. As I know more of Him, I seek to be holy and pure as He commands. There is no other way I can see Him, if my life does not align with his nature. As I know more and more about Him, I understand His ways and I can follow Him more closely. As I understand more of Him, He reveals more and more of Himself to me. Even when other men are shouting about their experience of God, I am not moved, as long as I also have God in me.
Pity the man who only has stories of the past and nothing about his present walk with God. Pity the man who has no idea what God demands from all who seek to follow Him and tries to make it by labour and striving. Seek God; Find God; Know more about Him; Daily ask Him for help. Your eternity will be glad you did. His time of favour is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment