What is the fear of the Lord?

Proverbs 9.10
“The fear of the Lord  is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

The fear of the Lord means to respect and honour the Lord. It has nothing to do with being scared of the Lord like you would be scared of a poisonous snake or some wild animal. It simply means to love what He loves and to hate what he hates. It means to obey the Lord.

You honour the Lord in your thoughts, your words, your actions, in private and in public. When Joseph ran away from Potiphars wife it was because of the fear of the Lord. It was because of the fear of the Lord that Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar at Gods command. Daniel would not defile himself with the kings meat or drink his wine as it was offered to pagan gods. It was because of the fear of the Lord that Jesus died on the cross. Proverbs says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, arrogance, evil way and perverse speech. The fear of the Lord has great rewards even though it may seem like you are going down and there is no benefit to be seen. You see it was the fear of the Lord that took Joseph to prison, that took Jesus to hell and took Daniel to the lions den. And it was the same fear of the Lord that took Joseph to the prime minister position, Jesus to the throne of God and Daniel to become the second most powerful person in Babylon.

Friend, the fear of the Lord oftens taken you down before it shoots you to the top. So be encouraged, the Lord is on your side. It may look like there is no benefit in honouring the Lord but hold on, for you will see the glory of God. As you grow in the knowledge of God and his glory, you will begin to honour, respect and adore Him. You will understand life and you will deal wisely in all the areas of your life. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. God bless you.