The Gifts of Fear

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.

For a number of reasons, fear has been a topic in my life a lot this past year. Fear is common to us all…this, like a lot of emotions, I wonder why God would give it to us. Fear cripples, blinds and paralyzes. Yet, there are many verses in the Bible where God equates fear, fear of the Lord, with wisdom. Wisdom is something I have come to respect. Wisdom is something I feel like I always lack; there never seems to be enough.

I have talked with a few people in the past two weeks about their fears. I hear so much “lack” in their words. They all have the common theme of thinking nothing will really change, they can’t move forward and there is no hope of breaking through.

Suddenly, during a book study with our small group from church, God gave me a revelation

…”a gift of fear is that it reveals our dependence and need of help to overcome and do what we can’t.”

Fear reminds us and reveals our need for God – the only one greater than anyone on earth and the only one capable of overcoming ANYTHING…including death and sin.

It brought Psalm 111:10 to life for me! My dependence on God (fear of the things and people I can not overcome or face) is the beginning of wisdom!! It is wise to know your limits, know where your help comes from. It reminds me of when I was in college. The smartest students knew the best resources to use to complete their assignments…they didn’t know more, they just knew where to find the right information.

Proverbs 1:7 states The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. I have been very foolish in my life. Many times, I have trusted the wrong people and looked to wrong things for help. The fear of the Lord is to respect His wisdom and power and admit our dependence and need of Him sooner rather than later to overcome life’s trials.

I will pray that your fear is a quick reminder to praise God, pray and hear His wisdom to take the next step.

1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Job 28:28 And he [God] said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”