The Unparalleled Benefits of Fearing God

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Psalms 111:10

“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For OF Him, and THROUGH Him, and TO Him, are ALL things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭33‬-‭36‬ ‭

Yesterday, we learned that to experience the greatest pleasure in life, we must know God for who He is. There are no shortcuts. In fact, we can spend our entire short lifetime seeking to know God and never come to the end of that knowledge. Isn’t that glorious? The Bible reminds us:

“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬

Truly, to give God glory is our highest purpose; our praise reflects the repose of our greatest treasure.

My friend, when we live in an attitude of reverent awe of God, the benefits we reap are boundless. How does this work? Well, first of all, we realize that it is impossible for us to give God more than He gives us. He gives us boundless supplies of ALL things money cannot buy. For example, Galatians 5:22-23 says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…” 

Do you know ANYONE who gives you ALL those wonderful gifts? 

Does any other person? Beggars can’t give away bread. We can’t give away what we don’t have. We don’t have anything if it doesn’t come from God. All the money in the world can’t love us and it can’t buy peace or compassion. It is only within a strong reverence and respect for God’s presence that we are able to experience the amazing fruit of HIS Spirit! 

But wait—there’s more! 

While this devotional cannot possibly cover all the benefits of living with a strong reverence for God’s presence, I want to share two other benefits (in addition to the priceless fruit of the Spirit) that have been transformational: God’s wisdom and strength. I promise you this—there is no way on earth that you would be reading this devotional, listening to the podcasts and music, or watching the videos—without God having given me His strength and wisdom! You are witnessing a miracle. God took a broken and foolish woman out of the darkness and into His light. Everything I do is not me—it’s ALL Him.

What is so impressive about God is that He can use anyone for His glorious purposes—when we 100% surrender to Him.

God gives us so much hope in a world where fear and wickedness seem to pervade every platform of influence! His Word promises:

“In the FEAR of the LORD is STRONG confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ 

“The FEAR of the LORD is the beginning of KNOWLEDGE, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7

“Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to ME will dwell SAFELY, and will be SECURE, without fear of evil.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭1‬:‭‭29‬-‭33‬ ‭ 

When we have the proper fear of God, we have no reason to live in fear of evil.

My friend, the enemy is seeking to rob you of your best life. In fact, he wants to make sure you miss out on ETERNAL life in the presence of the greatest pleasure humanity is capable of experiencing; that is, God’s presence! 

God made only one person who is just like you. He has a plan for your life that is greater than you can imagine. Give God 100% of all you are. Make Him the source of your greatest awe and respect. 

The fear of the Lord produces a life of supreme satisfaction, greatest peace, immense love, magnificent strength and it is unparalleled by any experience on this earth; indeed, it is a preview of Heaven.