Fear of the Lord VI: Our Growth
This week we’re continuing our series on the fear of the Lord with Chuck Baggett, co-pastor at Christ Church New Albany.
In this episode, we’re talking about how fearing God is for our own edification.
To fear God is to be awe-struck, filled with a sweet reverence for Him—that He is infinitely bigger and astonishingly kinder than we ever could have imagined.
We are commanded to fear God, but it is also a blessing, a gift, and a delight to fear Him.
The fear of God is a treasure to those who possess it.
What you treasure says a lot about your character. The Christian values this gift because they see its immense worth. The fear of the Lord has value in every circumstance, whether in the most pleasant moments or in the valley of the shadow of death. Through all the changing scenes of life, the fear of the Lord is always a blessing.
“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
That one may avoid the snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27).
“The fear of the Lord leads to life,
So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil” (Proverbs 19:23).
The fear of God is a fountain of life and helps us to stay away from the misery of sin. Sin is a thief of God’s glory. If we fear Him, we will want to flee sin.
So how do I fear God?
You can’t make yourself spiritually alive. So what do you do? Reading a good book on fearing God or going to church are good things to do. But ultimately, you must go to God, meet with Him, and plead with Him, “God, I don’t have that kind of heart. But I want it. You are the only One who gives that kind of heart.” Ask the Lord to give you a heart that fears Him.
Hold yourself to the plumb-line of God’s Word. Are you listening to the world? Or are you listening to what God says?
Live in the conscious awareness of God’s presence.
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27) .
“For in Him we live and move and exist” (Acts 17:28). God fills every place. He is immense, but He is also near.
Dearest Lord, when my heart is cold, my mind barren, and my frame lifeless You make me rejoice in warming my frozen affection, making fruitful my poor estate, and putting new life into my soul.
O Lord, all I want is a frame of mind best suited for Your glory.
Truly, when I have nothing, feel nothing, can do nothing, am worse than nothing, that then, even then, I may be rich in You amidst all my own bankruptcy. This, dear Lord, is what I covet.
And if You withhold any help that might melt, or warm, or rejoice my own feelings; but if my soul still hangs upon You despite all, my God and Jesus will be my Rock, that feels nothing of the ebbings and flowings of the sea around, whatever be the tide of my fluctuating affections. Amen.
— Robert Hawker
A Guide to Family Worship
This prayer is taken from our new book, A Guide to Family Worship.
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