“In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to avoid the snares of death.” Proverbs 14:26-27
I said to Erin, “Have you seen the sunset, it is time to praise the King?” I walked out into the openness of peace as wind burst into me and the sounds of the evening African sky echoed in my ear.
As I sat on a hill, I felt as though I needed to revere my King in a way that I had never done before. In the distance the sun began to plummet to the depths of the horizon in ways that touched my soul. My heart pounded as I witnessed the beauty of God’s creation all around me. I heard a whisper in my ear telling me to climb the tree in the distance and worship Me.
I climbed to the top of the tree in complete amazement of how fully alive I was at that moment. What God wanted me to do was to become more fully alive in Him. He wanted me to see what He had created me for. He wanted me to realize that He breathed everything into existence and to praise Him for it.
Many will say- why would you want to worship a God that just wants to be praised? The answer to that question is the ultimate one and that is because He loved us first. God made a world with billions of stars, billions of galaxies and a small earth. On earth, He decided to create man in His image. Man is so small in comparison to the mass that surrounds the earth, yet He says that you are the apple of His eye.
There is nothing that God loves more than man. Whether you are the worst of sinners or the most righteous, He loves all. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. God does not detest the man, he hates the sin. God loves every single human being on this earth.
As I sat at the top of the tree, I saw the fear of the Lord. I saw that what our Father wants from his sons and daughters is the ultimate respect of the Father. We are so small and insignificant in comparison to the size of the world, yet He loved us first and looks at us as His precious possession. He wants us to feel and see that through this reverent fear is ultimate love.
I have touched a subject that I feel is the sole reason that the western church has gone in the direction that it has. There are so many things that the church is doing well, but I feel that we have lost the fear of the Lord.
In Swaziland, if you are in the presence of the King you are expected to get on your knees and show your respect. If George W. Bush were to enter into a building everyone would stand to their feet out of respect for who he was. Do we do that with the living God?
Jesus Christ is real and alive today in the Holy Spirit. This is the same Holy Spirit that breathed the world into existence, who knew you in your mother’s womb, who loved you first. We need to realize this everyday that we wake up. We were loved first and created to be loved by the Lord the Most High, the King of all Kings.
It says in Psalms 25:14, “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” I believe that with holy fear we will find all the answers to life. Just as a child growing up needs the correction and the fear of a father, so too do we need to revere our true Heavenly Father.
As my arms reach toward the heavens, my soul beats to understand the fear of the Lord more. My heart breaks for the revelations that will change nations, the revelations that will make me come fully alive as the person that God created me to be.
I pray that believer and unbeliever alike will come to the knowledge of the fear of the Lord. I pray that through this understanding we will see the ultimate love that our Father has for us.
Have a wonderful and blessed day.
