10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
How does fear of the Lord make one wise?
There are many things in life that cause us to feel foolish, but I don’t think we will ever feel foolish when we trust in Jesus and do His will. We feel foolish when we think we are in His will but later discover that we are not, but we can also be glad because His mercy is there to pick us up and set us straight, especially if we do fear Him.
Doing the will of God will not cause us shame. He is wise in all that He does, so if we trust in Him and learn to walk in His will, we will not fail. This world might mock us or envy us but the more we live in Christ and the more freedom we experience from foolishness and destruction, the less we will care about what the mockers say.
We also know that though the Lord is patient and merciful, the wrath of God will come upon the disobedient, so we both respect that and trust in that.
We thank Jesus for His sacrifice that makes us holy in the eyes of God, freeing us from fear of condemnation. However, we know that one day we will face Jesus and give account for what we did with the salvation that was bought with His suffering and death.
That to me is a fearful thing. I don’t want to stand before a resurrected Jesus, who is so powerful and glorious, and have nothing to show for what He did for me. I want to do my upmost to serve Him and trust in Jesus to make that work effective.
A Note of Encouragement in Service:
Do you want to serve Jesus but feel like you don’t have what it takes? Have you begun to serve Jesus but feel tempted to give up because you aren’t doing good enough? Please keep going.
If I relied on my ability—which is very little—and my wisdom—which is foolishness—I would have given up a long time ago. I want to encourage anyone who reads this. Do not give up on serving the Lord.
People in their pride and arrogance will try to discourage you, but once Jesus puts something in your heart to do, He will cause you to do it and grow in it. Don’t listen to what other people say; listen to Him and trust in Him and He will do the work in you and through you.
Instead of fear of failure or what other people say or do, fear standing before Jesus with nothing to show for His sacrifice, having “buried your talent in the earth.”
Instead of trusting in your ability, trust in the desire He placed in you and His work in you.
We make mistakes. That is how we learn. If we are honest and seek Him, all mistakes are for our good and we will get to a point where our service is profitable.
I also want to say that when we think of service, we might think about ministry, leading a bible study, or performing acts of charity. These are forms of service, but living a Christian life is what it is all about. The service I want to grow most in is service to my family and friends as a good Christian who can help lead people to Jesus and grow in Him. That is the service Jesus really wants, and we can and will grow in that if we fear Him and trust in Him.
Sometimes we don’t know what we should be doing. There is something we can work at. There is some way that we can grow as a Christian. Take whatever measure of faith Jesus has given you and whatever measure of desire for service Jesus as given you, and work at it. Keep seeking the Lord to make His will known to you.
What does it mean, “the knowledge of the holy is understanding?”
Does it mean that knowledge of holiness is understanding, or does it mean that the holy will know understanding? I’m not sure how to read this, but one thing does come to mind.
What is profitable knowledge?
There are all kinds of knowledge in this world, but not all knowledge is beneficial. The knowledge that matters most is the knowledge of Jesus Christ. There is knowledge that leads to pride and foolishness, and there is knowledge of the righteousness and wisdom of God that brings good things to us.
We will never be ashamed of this knowledge. I want to write more about that tomorrow.
For now, how can we grow in a more perfected fear of the Lord?
Maybe we consider that God is always there and He knows all things. If we are mindful of this, we might become more aware of our actions. Maybe we consider that God knows every detail of our hearts. If we are mindful of this, we might seek Him so that we can face our darker selves and find forgiveness and healing. Maybe we consider the sacrifice of Jesus and we want to be faithful servants. Maybe we want to care more about pleasing God than fearing what the world thinks of us or might do to us.
There’s always something we can grow in.
Do you have something to share about how the fear of God changed your life for the better? Do you have a problem you want prayed for or need someone to talk to? Leave a comment or contact me privately. I am happy to help and I so much love to hear the testimony and perspectives of other believers.
Jesus Alone 