The Fear of the Lord is Abiding by Bryan Craig

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And 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 the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:1-3

Not too long ago, I had a thought.  I was thinking about all the trouble in the world and all the people living in darkness, and I thought this, “The problem is that too many people don’t fear the Lord.”  We see even Christians not living like Christians.  People live as if they are God and as a result, we see so much evil.  No fear of the Lord.

This thought felt Spirit-inspired.  I didn’t think too much about it until a few months later.  Last Christmas, as with all Advent seasons, I was spending time reading different accounts of the Christmas story.  Luke 1:46-55 struck me in a unique way.  It is a praise from the lips of Mary, after she visits her cousin Elizabeth.

 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.  For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.  He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.  He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

First of all, it’s truly amazing to hear Mary, a humble servant, who was chosen for an extraordinary task, to speak prophetically about the power of this child she was carrying.  But what caught my heart was the line, “His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.”  It was saying to me that the Lord wants to do great things… for those who fear Him.

So, the next logical step was to figure out what it means to fear the Lord.  It’s obviously important.  And I don’t think it’s fear, like the world sees fear, for there are hundreds of instances where the Lord or His angels would say to His trembling followers, “Do not fear.”  So, I did a quick reference search on “fear of the Lord”, and I discovered that it has many benefits, not just “mercy” as Mary proclaimed.  See a short list below of verses that describe “the fear of the Lord.”

• It is instruction in wisdom (Proverbs 15:33)
• It is the beginning of knowledge. (Prov 1:7)
• It prolongs life. (Prov 10:27)
• It does not envy sinners. (Prov 23:17)
• It brings strong confidence and a refuge for one’s children. (Prov 14:26)
• It is the beginning of wisdom. (Prov 9:10)
• It is a fountain of life. (Prov 14:27)
• It is hatred of evil. (Prov 8:13)
• It leads to life, satisfied rest, and a life not visited by harm. (Prov 19:23)
• It is steadfast love & faithfulness. (Prov 16:6)
• It is clean. (Psalm 19:9)
• It is good understanding. (Psalm 111:10)
• It is stability for your times, the abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge, it is Zion’s treasure (Isa 33:6)
• It is Jesus’ delight and doesn’t judge by what eyes see or ears hear. (Isa 11:3)
• It is humility, riches, honor and life. (Prov 22:4)
• A little of it is better than great treasure and the trouble that comes with that. (Prov 15:16)
• It is safety. (Prov 29:25)
• The angel of the Lord encamps around one who fears the Lord and delivers them. (Psalm 34:7)
• Cleansing ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion. (2 Cor 7:1)
• Helps us submit to one another. (Eph 5:21)
• It is not afraid of bad news, makes the heart firm, trusting in the Lord. (Psalm 112:7)
• It is instruction in the way we should choose. (Psalm 25:12)

Wow!  This was just the beginning of the list.  But I think what tied it together for me was Isaiah 11, which I quoted at the beginning of the devotion.  It is a Messianic prophetic verse about Jesus…it says this about Jesus:

“A branch from his roots shall bear fruit.  And 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 the fear of the Lord.  And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.”  Isaiah 11:1-3

God told us thousands of years before He came that He would come to bear fruit.  The Spirit, who brings the fruit of the Spirit, would rest upon Him, including a “Spirit of the fear of the Lord.”  As a matter of fact, it says Jesus’ DELIGHT is in the fear of the Lord.

So, it started to make sense.  The Fear of the Lord is an invitation, a lifestyle, a reverence, a worship, a respect.  I believe a decision to Abide in Christ is saying, “I fear the Lord,” and I give him all the rights to myself, to my choices, to my dreams, to my family, my finances, my heart.  To fear the Lord is to abide with the Lord.

And the fruit goes way beyond the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23…just look at the quick list I compiled.  The benefits are amazing.  Jesus said this: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”  John 10:10  I believe this ABUNDANT LIFE that Jesus came to give us is this life of fearing Him and abiding with Him. 

So, I encourage you to take some time in the coming weeks to do your own search on the Fear of the Lord.  You may find that this is the missing link in your life.  As you humble yourself, seek His face, meditate on His Word, and come into His presence, you will find you are one step closer to the Fear of the Lord.  Don’t be afraid.