Behold the eye of the lord is on those who fear him on those who hope in his steadfast love.
Psalm 33:18
Keystone Victoria has just come out of a season of fasting and prayer and for many of us, we are purposed to continue with our press. For myself personally, I believe the Lord is leading me into a delight in the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:3 said of this shoot, Jesus, that the spirit of the fear of the Lord was upon him and the fear of the Lord was his delight.
The fear of the lord, the love of God and humility are inseparable. As we press into one, we find the others at work. We love Him and humble ourselves before him and in the fear of the Lord we walk out obedience. We learn that what we live before him, becomes our life before others. We aren’t one way before him and something else to others. We may stumble, we may fall down, but with this heart, we are quick to repent and make all wrongs right.
As we look at Jesus, we find a couple of verses that show us exactly what the fear of the Lord looks like. From John 5:30 I can do nothing in my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
From John 8: 28....I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.
Jesus never separated his love for his Father from his obedience to Him. Philippians chapter two shows us his humility. As we study his humility, we learn “he humbled himself by becoming obedient” and lest we think differently, it wasn’t any easier for Jesus, the man, to willingly lay his life down than it is for us. We see this in his cry, “Father, if it’s possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will, but yours”. The bible says he was in an agony, dropping sweat as blood. This is the place of surrender for us all. Jesus, as a man, filled with the Holy Spirit, in relationship with his Father, believing His word, did exactly what we have to do when our “want to” is at odds with Gods.
As His church, his body, here and now, we are exhorted to ~
"bring holiness to completion in the fear of the Lord" (2 Cor. 7:1)
"work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12)
"be subject to one another in the fear of Christ" (Eph. 5:21)
"love the brotherhood of believers and fear God, .." (1 Pet. 2:17)
and "live our lives as strangers here in reverent fear" (1 Pet. 1:17).
I take great comfort in knowing that the Holy spirit is our teacher and as we come to Him,
(Psalm 33:11 Come, O children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord), he will teach us to walk in the fear of the Lord and it will become our delight.