The Fear of the Lord
- Shelly Joylyn
- Nov 13, 2024
- 4 min read
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him! -Psalm 33:8
We live in an interesting time in the earth. The world continues to grow darker and darker. Evil looks less and less like evil. The churches are full of Christians who look more like unbelievers than Jesus. Love looks less and less like love and more like acceptance of all things.
The Church as a whole has laid aside the holiness of God to pursue our own thoughts of who He is and what His desires are. We’ve allowed compromise and mixture to enter into our lives, our families, and our churches. We’ve forgotten that God is holy. He is unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. We’ve taken advantage of His grace and have used the blood of Jesus as an excuse to continue living in our flesh. We’ve made excuses for the sin in our lives because we’re “saved.” We’ve sacrificed His mercy because we’ve given all the power in our lives over to the idols of man made fear that we’ve refused to let go of.
We’ve forgotten that the road that leads to life is narrow. We’ve forgotten that God can have no part in evil, that He is Light and no darkness can be near Him. We have forgotten that He is holy, righteous, and pure. We’ve called it religion because we refuse to allow God in to the deepest places of our hearts to heal and restore all that’s been broken within us. We’ve downplayed sin because we’ll never be perfect. We’ve forgotten that we’re in a war. We’ve forgotten that there are things that God does in fact hate.
We’ve laid aside the fear of the LORD because we’re covered by grace. The Lord is drawing us to Himself in this hour. He’s bringing us back to fear Him and Him alone. He’s drawing a line in the sand and reminding us that He is an all-consuming fire. He is a jealous God and He will not allow His Bride to live with one foot in the world and one foot in the Kingdom. He’s purifying and refining because Jesus is coming for a pure and spotless Bride.
The world will continue to get darker, but the Bride of Christ will continue to shine brighter because she will look more and more like Jesus. There is a separation happening in the Church today. It’s not a matter of “religion”. It’s not a matter of who has the biggest buildings or the fanciest sound equipment. It’s the simple matter of who knows the heart of God and walks in His ways.
People all over the world today are persecuted for their faith. They are given the choice to deny Jesus or live. Many of us are not faced with that decision right now, but we are faced with the decision to repent of the darkness in our lives and to walk in righteousness. It’s not enough to say you’re a Christian. It’s not enough to go to church on Sunday.
God is just. He is coming to judge. His eyes are on His children who see evil and see righteousness and choose to draw a line in the sand and forsake all other things because they fear Him. There is safety in the fear of the LORD. There is protection. The fear of the LORD empowers us to fully surrender to His will. The fear of the LORD gives us the strength to lay down all the people pleasing. The fear of the LORD is what sustains us when persecution comes. The fear of the LORD is what allows us to enter into His grace. The fear of the LORD gives us wisdom and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life. The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear Him.
How do you know if you fear the LORD? You’ll know because your life will look nothing like the world around you. People will call you religious. You won’t have a problem walking away from worldly opportunities because you’ll know the voice of the Holy Spirit. You’ll be drawn to your knees because your heart cries out in repentance over every little thing that keeps you from Him. You’ll long for God’s presence night and day and that hour on Sunday morning will no longer be enough. You’ll know what to do and what not to do throughout the day because the Holy Spirit will give you clear warnings. You’ll be quick to walk in obedience because you know that saying yes to any other thing is saying no to Him. You will stand in awe of God not because of anything He’s done for you but simply because of who He is. You’ll know Him and you’ll know who you are in Him as His son or daughter and you’ll love Him more than anything or anyone else.
So often we fall into the fear of man and fear of the world because we need a deeper revelation of His love for us. In knowing His love we fear Him. In fearing Him we fear nothing else. In fearing God we are safe and protected. In fearing God we receive everything that Jesus died and resurrected to give us. Do not let another day go by receiving a cheap grace that leads you into the ways of this world. Repent. Fear the LORD. Walk in His ways. The road is narrow, but worthy is the Lamb. May He receive the reward of His suffering through our lives today.
I created this free eBook with 12 scriptures on the fear of the LORD to meditate on this month. You can download it through the link below to use on your tablet or print it out to hang where you will see it every day. May you be encouraged and strengthened to pursue the fear of the LORD in your life. May you know His heart and walk in His ways.
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