Devotion 1 - Delight in the Fear of God
The word “fear” is often perceived negatively and associated with negative emotions. We tend to think of fear as a bad thing, as something to be avoided. We don’t want to live in fear. Thus, when it comes to the “fear of the Lord”, we tend to think of it in negative terms as well. Biblical fear of the Lord, however, is a wonderful, amazing, positive, desirable blessing that God gives us to produce joy and gladness in our lives, and to motivate us to obey and serve Him with great pleasure.
How does fearing God lead to joy? And how can we delight in the fear of the Lord rather than to treat it as an obligated obedience? We hope that through these devotions, you will discover that the fear of the Lord is an important key to a joyful, fulfilling, and genuine intimacy with God. As we walk in a healthy fear of the Lord, it will help us to develop a deeper, more intimate relationship with God – one that is characterized by joy.
Learning from Jesus
Isaiah 11:1-3 – “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord…”
This passage undoubtedly is a reference to Jesus in His humanity and it also prophesied about the seven spirits that rested upon Him. One of the endowments is the fear of the Lord and the passage says that Jesus delights in the fear of the Lord. The highest and most important call to a child of God is to grow into maturity and be like Jesus. Hence, if Jesus delights in the fear of the Lord, we should also delight in the fearing God.
Learning from Moses
Ex. 20:18-21 – “Now all the people witnessed the thundering, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.” So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.”
In this passage, God manifested His glory to the children of Israel through thunder, lighting, trumpet sound and a smoking mountain, In fear, they trembled and stood afar off. Moses, however, drew near…
What gave Moses the strength & courage? Interestingly, he didn’t start with this attitude. He was once like the children of Israel, afraid of the manifestation of God.
Exodus 3:2-6 - “The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
vs.6 - Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.”
What changed Moses? In Exodus 3, he was afraid even to look when God simply manifested His glory as a burning bush. But in Exodus 20, when God manifested His glory in thunder, lighting, trumpet & mountain smoking, he was not afraid and he even had the courage to draw near.
We believe it was his relationship with and growth in the knowledge of God! A wrong type of fear of God repels us from God, but healthy fear draws us to God.
It is His love that draws us to fear Him. A growing knowledge of the nature and character of God and a deep and intimate relationship with God will draw us to delight in the fear of Him.