*Text: Prov. 1: 7*

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction” (NLT)

To properly understand the bible, you must understand what the fear of the Lord is. The Old Testament is filled with admonition for us to fear the Lord. Generally when we talk about fear, it usually reminds us of something negative. Most people who use the word “fear”, use it in a negative sense. Also, you will notice that fear seldom exist on its own, it is usually a reaction to something else. For example the fear of the dark is a negative reaction to darkness, if you take the darkness away, the fear becomes nonexistent. The reason why fear cannot exist on its own is because it is a lie! It merely creates a false reality that doesn’t actually exist.

However, there is one object of fear in the whole world which produces a positive reaction rather than a negative one. It is a fear that causes us to flourish in our relationship with God and that is the fear of the Lord. It is the most positive fear in the world. The Hebrew word for this type of fear refers to the reverence or the awesome nature of God. In the New Testament, the Greek term used for fear of God also refers to awe, reverence and an understanding of God’s greatness. This shows to us clearly that the fear of God is actually a positive fear and in this context, fear does not mean being scared of God, but rather to be in awe of His greatness. The implication of having this type of fear is that you will not want to offend God in any way, rather you will desire to please Him and you will continue to seek for ways to do so.

Our text tells us that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge, meaning that if we seek to be knowledgeable it begins with us understanding and walking in the fear of the Lord. It has been said that to be uninformed is to be deformed which drives home the point that it is important for us to be knowledgeable, but access to the right knowledge, understanding and taking proper advantage of it will only happen when we are established in the fear of the Lord. Also Prov. 9: 10 tells us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, if we desire to be wise, we need to start with the understanding of the fear of God. Every one of us desire to become wiser, and if the key to that growth is the fear of God, we need to start with an awe and reverence for who God is and what He has done!

Psalm 130: 4, explains that the fear of the Lord is a product of the forgiveness that we receive from Him. The more we are forgiven by God, the more we fear Him and the stronger our resolve not to offend Him anymore. Also the knowledge that the fear of God gives us access to will translate to wisdom and will also come to us in form of instructions which if followed will lead to the accomplishment of great things in our lives.

To walk in a path contrary to the fear of God therefore is to walk along the path of foolishness which ultimately leads to destruction. To walk in the fear of God however gives us victory over any other form of fear and puts us in command over life’s battles. Receive grace today to walk in the fear of God. Shalom.

You are most welcome to the month of November 2020. May the God of the eleventh hour bless your journey through this month in Jesus name. Surely He will visit you with eleventh hour blessings, eleventh hour breakthroughs, eleventh hour testimonies in the name of Jesus Christ. Whatever may be the challenges or the problems in this month, this month will not swallow you, it will not swallow any member of your family neither will it swallow anything good in your life in Jesus name. From the eleventh month the 12th month is in view, the end of the year is in view, you will get there and you will go beyond it into the year 2021 in Jesus name. So shall it be in Jesus name. Amen.

Happy, blessed, peaceful and prosperous New Month to you and all that is yours in Jesus name. Shalom

Prayer Points

1. Father you are awesome and you are deserve to be feared, all those who fear you will experience your joy and your peace

2. Father please let the fear of you be rooted in my life and let me walk in this fear all the days of my life

3. Father by reason of your fear in my life, I will not walk the path of disobedience to you in Jesus name

4. Father the fear of you is the key to knowledge, as I walk with you therefore please open me up to all the knowledge I need in order to successfully walk with you in Jesus name

5. Father to walk contrary to your fear is to walk the path of destruction, I will not walk the path of destruction in Jesus name.