I like to pick up the definition of the fear of the Lord from Psalm 25:14 in the Amplified. It says, “The secret (of the sweet, satisfying companionship) of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its (deep, inner) meaning.”

Walking in the fear of the Lord is a lifestyle of worship. It is companionship with the Lord that satisfies our deepest longings. The Lord gave general information to the multitudes through parables. Then during intimate communion with His disciples He gave them the deep inner meaning,

I love Proverbs 9:10. I often visit it in my mind. It says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” I encourage you to read “Knowledge of the Holy” by A. W. Tozer if you never have. He goes into many aspects of God’s attributes.

I have begun to meditate through the book of Proverbs. In chapter two there is a progression of when we do something, then there will be a result. I like to read it as though the Lord is speaking. 

Verses 1-4 are the when: you receive My words, treasure My commands within you, incline your ear to wisdom, apply your heart to understanding, cry out for discernment, lift up your voice for understanding, seek her as silver, search for her as for hidden treasures…verse 5 says, “Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.”

Verse 10-11 says, “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul…Discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you.” Put verses 12-19 in parenthesis. Verse 20 says, “So you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness.”

As we continue to dissect this word, let’s look at the scene in John 8. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who was caught in adultery. Verse 6 says that they were testing Him that, “…they might have something of which to accuse Him…”

Their plot fell apart when He called them out. Verse 7 says, “…He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Verse 9 says, “…being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one…”

Jesus then asked the women in verse 10, “…where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” In verse 11 He said, “…Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

It is easy to “accuse” others of wrongdoing, when we ignore our own sin. We are called to build one another up. Ephesians 4:1-2 says to walk worthy of our calling, “With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another.”

Dissect means to analyze something in minute detail ~ study the internal parts. In Romans 8:33-34 Paul asked some questions. It says, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen…”

A charge is an accusation. Who is the accuser of the brethren? Satan. We are being influenced by the devil when we accuse another with a judgmental spirit. What right do we have? We have swallowed the bait on satan’s hook when we have a critical spirit, make derogatory remarks, or become a fault-finder of others.

There is a warning in Matthew 7:1-2. The word judge also means condemn. It says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Here is a new song called Rejoicing Bones. When I thought about my circumstances I became gloomy inside. My heart was getting heavy and my peace destroyed. Then in Your Word You revealed the secret of health. My bones are affected when my heart is in despair.

You said renew your mind. Rejoice in Me. I change not. There’s no shadow in Me. No matter what happens I remain the same.

So I turned my gaze from what was dragging me down. I looked to You my Victorious One. My heart began to rise like yeast in dough and my mouth opened in song.

In You I can rejoice. For You are my strength. I look away from sin to the spotless Lamb. All my sins are cleansed in Your precious blood. My heart sings through a rush of love. Yes my heart is filled with joy in You that nothing can destroy. I rejoice in You my eternal strength. My joy is full when I look to You.

What happens when we ignore God’s commands? We fall into consequences. Matthew 18:34 was about the one who refused to forgive. It says, “And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.”

That servant was forgiven an impossible-to-pay debt. Yet refused to forgive a fellow servant’s small debt. We are commanded to forgive as we have been forgiven. Ephesians 4:32. Colossians 3:13.

God’s commands are for our protection. Carrying an offense or a grudge negatively affects our health. Bitterness creates chemical changes. It drops acid on connective pathways in our brain. 

David wrote Psalm 31. Verse 10 says, “For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.” Psalm 66:18 says, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.”

When God says, “Don’t” and we do there will be consequences to our disobedience. I know this one well. In 1975 I found a house to buy. The downpayment was $1500.00. In order to have that money I would have to sell my house first. Three of us wanted to live together and mine was too small.

I fell right into the trap of the enemy. It was a perfect set up that I didn’t resist. I walked into my bank. The manager greeted me and excitedly explained a new feature of the bank ~ credit lines. She said that I could get $1500.00 on a credit line and pay it back over time. I took the bait.

I paid for that disobedience for ten years. The consequences were like dominos falling. One thing after another went wrong. The Lord forgives our sins, but He doesn’t remove the consequences. The path of obedience is strewn with grace.

C. S. Lewis said, “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” The Lord strategically uses our suffering. It is never wasted. 

He is our example of endurance while suffering. Hebrews 12: 2 says, “…who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame…” Eternal life with Him is our joy.

In Romans 5:3, Paul gave great instruction for enduring. The Amplified says, “Moreover (let us also be full of joy now!) let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18. We endure by looking beyond our temporary ‘light affliction’ to the things that are not seen. Hope ~ the anchor of our soul.

Romans 8:17 says, “And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” As I was meditating, I had a view of suffering I had not had before. 

When we forgive someone who has hurt us, we choose to bear the consequences of their sin against us without retaliation or bitterness. That is, according to Matthew 18:35, forgiving them from our heart. Jesus suffered under that same sin as He bore it on the cross ~ He forgave all past, present, and future sins regardless of the offense.

Verse 18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Sufferings: hardships, rejections, broken relationships, trials, afflictions, adversities, loss, and persecutions. We are called to endure. Hebrews 10:36

Therefore, any area of our spiritual life that defeats us, is a flesh-nerve that needs to be cut. By flesh-nerve I mean fleshly reactions. We wonder where they come from because they don’t seem to come from a thought. That’s the deception.

When we are deceived we don’t realize we are. Hebrews 3:13 says that the deceitfulness of sin hardens our heart. That means we grow callous over the hidden area. It makes us cynical and jaded in our thinking. It opens us to spiritual barrenness.

The great news is that God’s word can cut through that callous. Nothing is impossible for Him. I encourage you to lay your fleshly reaction before the Holy Spirit. Ask Him why you reacted the way you did. He will reveal the hidden. He will lead us into the truth that will set us free and keep us free ~ bringing the needed course correction.