Devotion 23 - Growing in the Fear of the Lord
Isa.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.”
The same spirit that was upon Jesus is now also within us as Christ dwells in each one of us who believes in Him. One of the expressions of Spirit that was upon Jesus is the “the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord”.
In the prophecy of Jeremiah, God again promised to put His fear in our hearts. Hence, without the shadow of doubt, God Himself has implanted the seed of fearing Him in our hearts.
Jer.32:38-41 – “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.”
However, this fear is just a seed, just like the love of God that has been imparted to us through the Spirit when we receive our salvation.
Rom.5:5 – “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
We need to water this seed regularly, nurture it so that it grows into a tree and bears fruit of its own. The seed of fearing the Lord must be matured over faithful meditations and prayerful confessions before it becomes a living truth in us.
2 Tim.1:6 – “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”
Just like how we need to stir up (or fan the flames) of the gifts of the spirit that is within us, we need to stir up the spirit of fearing the Lord in us. It means we are responsible to grow in the fear of the Lord.
Conditions for us to Grow in the Fear of the Lord
Consistent exposure to Scripture is the path to growing in the fear of God. The more we know God, the more we will fear Him. The more we see His majesty, sovereignty, and love, the more we will stand in awe of Him.
Deut.4:10 - “Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.”
Even the king was to read God’s law regularly, specifically for the purpose of learning to fear Him.
Deut.17:18-19 - “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes…”
Let’s consider five important elements for us to grow as we read the Word:
Prov. 2:1-5 – “My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”
- Obedience – “if you will receive My words…”
The Holy Spirit is the one who can reveal Jesus to us through the Word. If He is quenched and grieved (Eph.4:30; 1Thess.5:19), we will not grow in revelation. We can not offend the Spirit and expect Him to continue to make Jesus known to us in a deep way.
Are there areas of deliberate disobedience in our lives that are blocking our spiritual progress?
- Diligence – “If you…treasure My commands within you…”
We treasure His commands as we fill our minds and hearts with His Word so that our emotions are affected. We mediate on the Scriptures diligently. Reading gives us breath, but mediating gives us depth. It is impossible to grow in intimacy with Jesus without regular meditation on the Scripture.
- Teachable – “incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding…”
We need to have a humble, teachable and pliable heart, to be in fellowship and hear the word being taught regularly. If we are rigid and hard-hearted, always defending our pet doctrines, we will not be able to receive new revelation.
- Prayer – “if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding…”
We should constantly pray for enlightenment and revelation of God. One of Paul’s primary prayers for the Ephesian Church is for their them to continue to receive the “spirit of wisdom and revelation and for their eyes of understanding to be enlightened…”(Eph.1:17-18).
- Hunger – “if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures…”
We need to have a deep hunger to truly grow deep in God. We must spend time digging out the precious truth like a covetous man searches after wealth. The result – “then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”
May the Lord continue to grant all of us an obedient and seeking heart, a holy insatiable passion of wanting to know Him more and more till we see Him face to face!