PREVIEW: What does it mean to fear the Lord? This is by no means a theological definition, but for all intents and purposes, to fear the Lord means to make him and his purposes both the center and the circumference of your life. It is to be consumed with love, fueled by faith, and characterized by obedience in a moment-by-moment walk with God. It is to care more about what God cares about than anything else. That is what it means to fear the Lord, and that is what it takes to be blessed by the Lord.
A Journey of Worship // Psalm 128:1-2
King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, began his most famous book, Proverbs, by writing, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). What followed was a collection of wise sayings intended to lead the God-fearing person into a life that the Lord would uniquely bless.
Solomon’s father, King David, who was Israel’s most beloved king, began his most famous book, Psalms, by writing, “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.” (Psalm 1:1-3 )What followed was a collection of worship songs that expressed the blessed condition of one who feared the Lord.
Blessed fear—almost seems like an oxymoron. Fearfully blessed—same with that. Yet, for the person who fears God, blessings are guaranteed. And for the person who lives a genuinely God-blessed life, there you will find the fear of the Lord at their core.
What does it mean to fear the Lord? This is not a theological definition, but for all intents and purposes, to fear the Lord means to make him and his purposes both the center and the circumference of your life. It means to be consumed with love, fueled by faith, and characterized by obedience in a moment-by-moment walk with God. It means passionately caring more about what God cares about than anything else.
That is what it means to fear the Lord, and that is what it means to be blessed by the Lord.
You see, blessing in the purest sense is to be consumed by your love for God, to be fueled by your faith in God, and to be characterized by your obedience to God. A person who lives that kind of life knows pure and unassailable joy at the deepest level. Earthly success, material wealth, personal popularity, and all the other attributes the world says are needed for the blessed life are simply pale compared to a life characterized by blessed fear.
When you fear the Lord, you are truly blessed. When you are truly blessed by God, it is because you fear the Lord.
May God grant you holy fear, and may God richly bless you.
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