“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31)
Dear People Who Keep Company with God,
Our dream is to experience the supernatural glory as the early church did. In this verse, we see a couple of keys to seeing this dream come true: walking in the fear of the Lord and seeking the comfort of the Holy Spirit. We understand the comfort of the Holy Spirit, but when we hear the phrase, “fear of the Lord” it is easy to misunderstand its true meaning. There is a fear of the Lord that is not wholesome and will push you away from Him. This fear is brought out in the story of the Parable of the Talents. The unprofitable servant’s master corrected him for being wicked and lazy after he made an excuse, “I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground” (Matthew 25:25). We are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be afraid of Him. He created us for pleasure and close friendship with Himself, and nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). An unwholesome fear of the Lord is born out of a wrong view of God. Jesus gave us His definition of the fear of the Lord when He faced Satan in the wilderness. He quoted an Old Testament scripture. “Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'” (Matthew 4:10) He was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13 where it says, “You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him.” Jesus defined the word “fear” as worship. The fear of the Lord comes through a personal encounter with the living God. When you encounter Him, Jesus is so much more glorious, beautiful and majestic than your thoughts could have ever imagined. To fear God is to worship Him. It’s to give him the respect and honor due Him.
The Bible has also defined the fear of the Lord in relation to sin. “Wisdom pours into you when you begin to hate every form of evil in your life, for that’s what worship and fearing God is all about.” (Proverbs 8:13 TPT) That means seeing and thinking about evil the way God thinks about it; He hates it because it violates and wounds. God does not want you to focus on sin or be sin conscious; rather, He wants you to hate it. When you hate something, you will resist, avoid, and turn away from it. In Psalm 34, King David expounds upon this, “Come, children of God, and listen to me. I’ll share the lesson I’ve learned about fearing the Lord. Do you want to live a long, good life, enjoying the beauty that fills each day? Then never speak a lie or allow wicked words to come from your mouth. Keep turning your back on every sin, and make peace your life motto. Practice being at peace with everyone.” (Psalm 34:11-14 TPT). The fear of the Lord will motivate you to be merciful, kind, and honorable. It causes you to realize how small you are in the grand scheme of things, but at the same time, how much you are loved and secure in the Father’s heart. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because you see Him as He truly is and respond with awe-struck adoration. It is to tremble in His presence knowing He is good, matchless, and loves you.
Many Blessings, BW