The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.
Proverbs 9:10
What is your first reaction to “the fear of the LORD”? If you have endured a religion based on fear, you may say, “I had enough of that when I was young; I don’t want anything to do with it now.”
If that is what you feel, look at the good that is promised here, and see if you may discover something wonderfully new.
Where wisdom begins
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (9:10). The fear of the Lord is the beginning place of following Jesus Christ. And all the blessings of wisdom—life, health, trust, and peace—have their beginning in the fear of the Lord.Where strength begins
By the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil (16:6). In the book of Proverbs, God is speaking to His own children. If you are a child of God, you will have a desire to turn away from evil. When you see a sin in your life, you will say, “How can I get rid of this?”
You know that time won’t do it. Experience tells you that your own effort won’t do it. And fear won’t do it either. Fear can restrain sin, but it cannot overcome the pull of sin in your heart. But here we are being told that the fear of the Lord makes it possible for you to overcome the power of particular sins.
Where life begins
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death (Prov. 14:27). Whatever this “fear of the Lord” is, it is something to get more of, not something to get rid of, because it is the beginning of wisdom, it will give you strength in your struggle to overcome sin, and it is a fountain of life!
What is your reaction to “the fear of the LORD”? Are you ready to discover something wonderfully new?
