The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life. Psalms 14:26-2, 25:14, 31:19, 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, Isiah 33:6, Hebrews 12:28

Psalms 14:26/27
26 In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.

Psalms 25:14
14The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

Psalms 31:19
19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!

Psalms 111:10  
10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Proverbs 1:7
7The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction

Isiah 33:6
6and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure.

Hebrews 12:28
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.

My Comments: When I was a little girl of about 6 or 7 years of age, I remember waking up in the middle of the night and looking for my parents. I had had a bad dream. They were nowhere to be found and the front door was wide open in our Quonset hut home. Out the door I saw a fire lighting up the dark sky and I don't know if I feared because Mom and Dad weren't there or because there was a fire and I had always been taught to have a healthy fear of fire. A healthy respect of it and what it could do to me if I touched it. They had seen it and gone to help but it turned out neighbors were just burning off timber from their land in order to build. Fire where I came from was used to heat and if it got out of hand would kill or destroy property so we were raised to use it carefully.

When I first accepted the Lord as my Savior and heard people talking about fear of the Lord I thought of fear as I did fire. If one got to close it would destroy or harm one. I did not understand how the one I loved so much was to feared. I wanted to be close to Him, to have Him close to me. I had fallen in Love with he Lord God of the Universe and I never wanted to be separated from Him. How could I reconcile my desire to be so intimate with Him and yet fear Him?

There are an extreme amount of Scripture verses about fearing the Lord yet when one studies them we find the fear of the Lord in the Bible was not the fear as one fears fire. It is the fear or reverence of loving so completely one wants to do everything to please the one loved. When we fall in love with someone we do not want to cause them pain or displeasure. We want to bring them joy and do everything to show them how much we love them. How much more should we show this love to the God who created us, who sent His Son to be our Salvation, who sacrificed Himself?

When we drink in the Lord we are never thirsty nor do we hunger when fed on the nourishment of His word. The more we fellowship with the Lord and are fed in His word the more we reverence Him and are thankful for all He has done for us. For those of us who love Him the fear we experience is not the fear as the fear when one is afraid of going close to the fire but rather the fear of the Lord is one of reverencing the one and only true God. It is knowing He gives us knowledge, understanding, wisdom, goodness, and refuge from all the storms of life. We lack for nothing when we accept the free gift of righteousness offered to us from the gift Jesus gave us when He freely went to the Cross in our place. It is knowing we shall not perish though our bodies pass to the grave our souls will live forever with the Lord. John 3:16 says 16 "For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. So fear the Lord and live.

Abba Father, we come before You knowing only You can save us from eternal death and You chose to do that through the sacrifice of Your Son Jesus on the Cross. We praise You for sending Your Son to die in our place and thank You for the pain it caused You to allow Him to be sacrificed in our place. You alone are the lover of our souls and You alone want the best for us. May we ever be thine and seek to please You in all we think, say and do. May we never be found lacking in reverence and awe of you. Thank You for coming to earth Jesus and paying it all on the Cross. All to You we owe. May our lives bring You honor and praise. Holy Spirit, You are our comforter and our strength, in You we find wisdom and understanding, with You we live forever. How great and awesome are You, oh God. Thank You for all You do for us and for our lives. Thanks You for our salvation. Help us to live our lives to glorify You. In Jesus name in union with the Holy Spirit we pray. Amen
Rebishka