The fear of the Lord is rooted in our relationship with Him…….

“The Lord takes pleasure in those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy and loving-kindness”.   Psalms 147:11 AMP

There is no fear of God without doing the will of God.  In other words, whoever fears the Lord does His will and whoever does not fear Him, but wants to satisfy his flesh and do whatever he wants will not follow the will of God.

What does it mean to fear of God?

Prov. 8:13; “The fear of the Lord is to hate what is sinful.   I hate pride, self-love, the way of sin, and lies”. 

Prov. 3:7;”Do not be wise in your own eyes.  Fear the Lord and turn away from what is sinful”.  

One implication of the above scriptures is that you cannot fear God if you think well of yourself…….prideful.

The fear of God is a choice.

Prov. 1:29; “For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord”.

We are to dwell in the fear of the Lord all day long.

Prov. 23:17; “Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord”.

How does one come to understand the fear of God?

Prov. 2:1-5; “My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands.
 Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.
 Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.
 Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God”.

Benefits of fearing God?

Prov. 1:7; “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline”.

Prov. 9:10; “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment”.

Prov. 15:33; “The fear of the Lord is discipline leading to wisdom,
and humility comes before honor”.

Psalms 147:11; “…..the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him,
those who put their hope in his unfailing love”.

The fear of the Lord is rooted in our relationship to God as His children.

The fear of the Lord is rooted in our love for Him. 

   When we really love God, with all our heart the thought of offending Him fills us with dread!  We cannot bear the thought that we have hurt or offended Him in any way, we love Him too much!

The fear of the Lord is rooted in our admiration for God.

   We have a wonder and awe of Him that is inspired by a deep respect for God and an aversion to offend Him.  We love Him too much to ever want to damage our relationship with Him.

The fear of God is rooted in our desire for unity with God.

   We have a great fear of sin because we know it will create a distance between us and God.  We have a greater desire to be in union with Him and the gift of a holy fear causes us to fear ever losing the intensity of that union.

The fear of God is rooted in our appreciation for God’s holiness.

   God is holy and the holy fear within us strikes a deep awareness of this holiness as well as a deep understanding that we must be made holy before coming into His presence.  Holy fear helps us to appreciate that we do not simply walk into God’s presence in the spiritual equivalent of jeans and a T-shirt.  Holy fear inspires us to be clothed in holy attire…..the blood of Jesus and true righteousness.   Holy fear makes us serious about this preparation.

“That’s the whole story.  Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.    God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad”.   Ecc. 12:13-14 NLT