It Starts Small

I was delighted to finally understand what it meant to fear the Lord. Respect his power and authority. Respect his commands and precepts. Respect his love and protection and provision for my life. Respect the creation of me and his purpose for me. The very love that he filled my heart with was the love, respect and honor I had for him. I obeyed because I respected him. He’s the ultimate power and authority and control over all things. It’s only through His perfect love I could trust in Him and give him respect.

But, my curiosity wasn’t quenched. I wanted to know more. I found nine verses that stood out that described what happens to me when I give God this respect:

• Riches, Honor, Life: By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life. Proverbs 22:4
• Godly Living: By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. Proverbs 16:6
• Godly Knowledge: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7
• Godly Wisdom: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 9:7
• Godly Contentment: Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. Proverbs 15:16
• Godly Worship: But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Psalm 5:7
• Godly Salvation: Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land. Psalm 85:9
• Godly Confidence: In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. Proverbs 14:26
• Godly Insight: The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant. Psalm 25:14
• Godly Deliverance: 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Psalm 33:18-19

Wow! Look at that list! I don’t know about you, but THIS is everything I had been searching for in my life. To have this solid rock foundation of knowledge, contentment, wisdom, deliverance, insight, confidence, worship, and life! What beautiful and amazing promises by God. Giving him the highest respect and honor, surrender ourselves completely to him, and seek him in all we do and he promises all these things to us!

It’s only by hearing him speak that we can obey. Faith is not a feeling good about life. Faith is giving God the respect owed to Him and through obedience he gives us amazing promises He never fails on. Faith is obeying God in spite of circumstances or consequences. I began to see and hear God’s precepts:

• It’s not what you eat, it’s what you digest that makes you strong.
• It’s not what you gain, but what you save that makes you rich.
• It’s not what you read, it’s what you remember that makes you learned.
• It’s not what you preach, but what you practice that makes you a true believer in Christ.

The only great sin we practice is unbelief. The reason we sin is because we don’t respect or honor our Creator or his creation. His creation is ourselves, our marriages, our families, our work he has appointed us to. The chief root in the destruction of ourselves, our marriages, and our homes is unbelief. You can’t believe what you don’t hear or are unwilling to accept as absolute truth.

If we are not hearing God, we need to seek to understand why. A break down in faith is a train wreck waiting to happen.

I thought along time about the hearts response to when God speaks. He speaks through his written word and his spirit in my heart. He reveals his truth and how was I responding to it? For many years I responded with rebellion. I didn’t truly believe what he spoke. For so long I believed those great miracles, healing, blessings, only came to saints of the Old Testament. Rescue, parting of the Red Sea, deliverance from the desert into the promise land…. All of that was reserved for a special group of people for God’s purpose to bring his Son into the world.

But that begged the question, if that were truth, why would he have given this to us? Why do we read the Old Testament if there wasn’t something for us in there for us to receive? Is it possible that the God who rescues, parts the seas, and delivers victory over and over, still rescuing people? Parting the red seas in lives? Constantly delivering people by His victory? Is there a promise land for me?

Victory…. God’s victory. Freedom…. Faith…. What does it all mean? 😩