Grow | Fear of the Lord

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow…  Psalm 111:10

“Fear of the Lord” can be an intimidating term but it simply means “the conscious awareness that Jesus is present with us every moment of every day.” When we train ourselves to live in the fear of the Lord, we make better choices. We’re slower to mouth off, tell a lie, or choose to sin because…well, God is RIGHT THERE. Without the fear of the Lord we make decisions based on emotion, opinion, peer pressure, or selfish desire. It helps to understand the fear of the Lord this way:

It’s Friday night and you’re preparing to go out with friends. You hear a knock at the front door and when you open the door, Jesus is standing there, in the flesh. Jeans and a jacket, backpack over one shoulder, big smile on His face. “Hey, I came to hang out with you this weekend!” He says. “What are we gonna do?” Freeze-frame that moment. What would you say, would anything change? Would you mentally cancel the R-rated movie, kick the beer cans under the couch, or wipe your internet history?

That’s the fear of the Lord. If you would race ahead of Him to hide, change, or explain something you know He wouldn’t like, that means you are not living in the fear of the Lord. Those who live with the conscious awareness of His presence grow wiser, and they live authentically because there is nothing to hide. Spiritual growth is built on the fear of the Lord.

Final Thought:  If Jesus showed up at your house this weekend, would anything need to change?
Prayer: Jesus, I’d feel a little embarrassed if you showed up unexpectedly. There are some things I allow that I know you wouldn’t like. That means I’m not living with the fear of the Lord and I want to change that. Show me where to start. Amen.