The fear of the Lord

The fear of the Lord is a very essential element of revival or Spiritual reawakening. 

In my journey, the fear of the Lord was the first step towards my decision to absolute surrender and total commitment to God.

Before being saved, I didn’t have the fear of the Lord. I lived my life the way that I wanted. On my own terms. Submitting to no one. Living under greasy grace.

But when I surrendered everything to God, the fear of the Lord became the most important thing to me.

What is the fear of the Lord?

The fear of the Lord is the desire to submit to Him in every aspect of your life.  It is that act of obeying His commands. Hating sin, hating evil. The fear of the Lord is when you commit to live your life according to His will. 

Whatever it is. Abandoning all preconceived plans, ideas for your life and doing life His way. It is committing to live your life according to the purpose for which you were created.

Obedience, Submission, Surrender

When you fear the Lord, you do whatever he intended for you to do. We all have a purpose for which God created us. And when you have the fear of the Lord, nothing else matters. Nothing else except what God called you to do.

The fear of the Lord is obeying His word regardless of how uncomfortable it may seem. Obedience, submission, surrender are the 3 words that I would pick if I were to describe what the fear of the Lord is.

The fear of the Lord is about His Love 

When I encountered God, I discovered who He was. How powerful and amazing He is. And when you do, trust me, you will have the fear of the Lord.

You will fear God more than anyone and anything else. The fear of the Lord that I have is based on how much God loves me.

I wouldn’t want to disappoint someone who gave His life for mine. I would do anything to make Him happy. To me that is the fear of the Lord.

Not Punishment

It has nothing to do with literal fear you may have of a lion that it may eat you. It has to do with the Love that he has for you.

When you realize how much you are loved, it becomes your life’s mission not to disappoint that person other than the fact that he will punish you when you sin.

Of course we must never downplay the negative effects of sin. And how it creates a barrier between us and God. But the fear of the Lord in my perspective is solely based on how much he loves me first.

9 Benefits of the fear of the Lord to believers.

1. It gives life and safety

When you have the fear of the Lord you have life and guaranteed protection and safety. God gives good health and watches over those who fear Him. When you surrender your life to God fully, you don’t have to worry about your life anymore. 

Because that is no longer your business. You are like a baby, who worries about nothing because they know that their parents will sort everything out for their sake.

God takes care of those who fear Him

This is the same thing when you fear the Lord. whatever issues you have you just pass them onto the one responsible for you. He will sort everything out.

And just as stress free as a baby is, this is the same thing as for those who fear the Lord. They rest satisfied. Knowing no harm will visit them. Knowing that the creator of the heavens and the earth watches over them and literally takes care of everything.

2. The fear of the Lord Gives knowledge

When you have the fear of the Lord you develop knowledge. This is because you strive to know everything that God expects from you. And you want to do it to a T.

When you have the fear of the Lord you spend a lot of the time in His word. Since his word is where his commands are. And by reading the word you get knowledgeable.

The bible is our source of instruction like I always say, it’s our manual on how to do life here on earth. So when we read it, we get knowledgeable by studying it. And are not offended by instruction.

This used to be me before I was saved. I did life my way. And you wouldn’t tell me otherwise. That is being foolish. But when you have the fear of the Lord you love to learn what God expects from you as well as his instructions.

3. The fear of the Lord Hates evil

Before I submitted my life to God I didn’t hate evil as much as I do now. Right now, after realising the negative effects of sin I hate evil. I hate how doing evil literally comes back to bite me. It’s like drinking poison. 

Not that I am perfect because I am not. But I try not to live in deliberate willful sin. 

Pride and arrogance makes one unable to fear the Lord. because pride says I know what I am doing. But when you fear the Lord you hate sin.

Anything that God says not to do, you will hate it. Because you trust God. you fear Him. And that you have surrendered everything to Him.

4. The fear of the Lord is our purpose 

When God created us, He intended for us to fear Him. to love him, to obey his commands and to have a relationship with Him.

When you do not fear God, you will never understand what your purpose is. The fear of the Lord is our sole purpose here on earth. 

Walking in your divine purpose or the desire thereof, comes after you surrender your life to God. As an act of surrender you will proclaim to God that I am willing to abandon everything that I thought I wanted and follow you. 

God expects for us to walk in His ways, to love Him and to serve Him with ALL our hearts and our souls. That is the fear of the Lord. Following Him and surrendering our lives to Him.

5. The fear of the Lord grants God’s mercy

When you fear God you are a beneficiary of His mercy. I stand as a witness that His mercies literally are new every morning and that they endure forever. 

Ever since I surrendered my life to God my life has never been the same. Of course we live in a fallen world and there are always issues but I see the mercies of God. EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

Even when I slip up. Don’t spend as much time as I should want with Him. Arent the best version of myself to others. God’s mercies always follow me.

Always. Having the fear of the Lord is the best spiritual decision I ever made. I am covered by his mercies. Always!!

6. It Gives friendship with God

Yall, when I tell you. This is not just some words in a book. It’s a reality!! God avails Himself to those who fear Him. 

Fearing God means putting Him first in everything right? In that case He also puts you first. I tell you having a friendship with God is the best feeling ever.

Like I said earlier, the fear of the Lord shouldn’t be about being scared of God. But about how much you love Him and how much he also loves you.

Because of this, I am able to come boldly before His throne. Without any fear or condemnation. Knowing that the guy on the other end of the conversation would literally give his life for me.

That way there is no fear. But love. All love. And when i open up to God I am talking to God the father. God the friend. God the everything to me.

7.The fear of the Lord leads to abundance

When you fear the Lord all your needs are taken care of. God provides for those who love and fear Him. 

When you have the fear of the Lord, you will literally lack no good thing. I stand here as a witness.

Before surrendering to the Lord I was in charge of my life. Since I lived for myself. I lived life on my own terms. But after surrendering my life to Him, I lack no good thing.

Because the one I live for caters for all my needs.

8. It Gives us confidence and refuge

When you have the fear of the Lord you develop trust in God. and when you trust in God you no longer have any fear.

You already know that God will watch over you. Protect you and guide you in everything. When trouble comes you know your refuge is in the Lord. 

9. It provides Guidance and deliverance

Let me share this secret with you guys. This bible verse has really changed my life. Like it’s true. And alive. 

When I started meditating on this bible verse before bed I realised that the nightmares or spiritual dream attacks I used to have are now a thing of the past.

God literally sends His angels to encamp around those who fear Him. This is a true story. and I still use this bible verse to this day.

I find that my dreams are now of victory and protection that they were before. Even if I have an attack in my sleep, I always emerge victorious.

And whenI wake up I know that yes my Spirit is growing but this is not only me. I know that there are angels at play to deliver and protect me from the attacks of the devil.

So to conclude this article. I know that God loves all his creations. But believe me when I say that those that have the fear of the Lord have added benefits that others don’t have.  Some words that we may apply to our lives may not work if the fear of the Lord is not at play.

So I urge you all to submit your lives completely to God. Obey ALL his commandments.  Walk in all His ways, Love him above all else, and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. AMEN!!