“The Importance of Fearing God”

Scripture: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge …" -Proverbs 1:7, NIV
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, …" - Proverbs 9:10, NIV

As I write you, my brother and my sister on this morning, if I was to take a poll, all of you would own up to being afraid of something. Those fears may include failure, altitude, hurting your loved one, insects, dying, accidents, being surrounded by a lot of people in a tight space, and the list goes on and on. The real man or woman on the inside will strive to break these fears by doing a particular task. Case in point, if one is afraid of altitude, they may break their fear by getting in a plane and flying to a destination. If you have a fear of hurting a loved one, you would watch the things you say or how you react to those individuals. At the end of the day, those fears are irrelevant. There's someone you ought to fear more than anything or anyone in this world and that's our Heavenly Father! As we discussed in previous devotions, the fear we ought to have of God is not the same type of fear we have when we are afraid of something. The kind of fear we should have of God is one of respect and reverence. Why is it important to fear our Heavenly Father? I'm glad you asked because today's message will point out two critical reasons why your fear of God is important.

Today's main scripture is found in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs, written by King Solomon, was penned around 900 B.C. and is the fourth of the five Poetry books within the Old Testament of the Bible. This book of wise sayings and clichés were things Solomon learned from his reign as king of Israel and God blessed him with enough wisdom to pen it and bless you and me with it on today. Within the introductory and ninth chapters, Solomon provided us with the importance of why we should fear God.

Within the introductory chapter of Proverbs, Solomon teaches us that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge …". When we place ourselves in a mode where we honor God, reverence Him, and respect Him, it will start knowledge within you. The knowledge of handling your money, it will be given to you if you fear the Lord! The knowledge of being a good husband/wife, it will be given to you if you fear the Lord! The knowledge of making good grades in school, it will be given to you if you fear the Lord! The knowledge to make sound business decisions, it will be given to you if you fear the Lord! The ability to minister God's Word on a regular basis, it will be given to you if you fear the Lord! Anything you desire knowledge wise can be yours if you fear the Lord!

The other reason why it is important to fear God is found in ninth chapter of Proverbs. Solomon lets us know that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom …". Ladies and gentlemen, many people tend to be in awe of you because of the things you have done or can do. If truth were told, they should not be in awe because if they serve the same God as you, then they would understand that He blessed you with wisdom. Solomon can tell us this up, close, and personal, because God asked him what he desired before becoming king of Israel. Solomon told God that he desired wisdom. Solomon would have not gained wisdom unless he feared God! Brothers and sisters, God is really ready to take you to another level in Him! He's ready to blow your mind and open up His windows and pour you out blessings that you have not enough room to receive! He is standing right there, willing and ready, to love on you! However, He desires that you give Him proper fear and respect and not only that, use the wisdom He has/will impart into you wisely! Many of us, God has blessed us financially and next thing you know, we have spent our money quicker than a hiccup and later wondering, why am I not able to pay my bill? It's important to be a wise builder because storms will come and if your house is not build wisely, it will get blown away!

In closing, we all have fears of something. Those fears does not amount to a hill of beans unless we fear (respect, honor, and reverence) the true and living God. When we fear Him, it begins knowledge and wisdom. The last time I checked, we all need both of these to make it through our lives! Make it your business to fear God properly and make the best use of His knowledge and wisdom in your lives!