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November 11 Today’s Reading: Acts 8-9 “Walking in the Fear of the Lord” Acts 9:31
Believers are people who walk in the fear of the Lord. God’s people do not have a slavish dread of God. We are not afraid to speak to Him and about Him. We are not afraid that He will become angry with us, disinherit us, or punish us for sin. Faith in Christ removes that kind of terrifying fear. Yet, the believer does not think, talk about, or speak to God carelessly, flippantly, without reverence for His infinite, glorious, righteous Being. A true, heart knowledge of the Triune God will produce godly fear in the heart.
Reverence The fear of the Lord is simply reverence for Him. It is much like the reverence a son has for his father, involving both love and respect. God has won the admiration of His children’s hearts, causing us to reverence Him. We reverence His name, His Being, His Word, and His works. All that God is, all that has to do with Him, all that He says, and all that He does is held in high esteem by those who know Him.
Hate Evil This fear of the Lord shows itself in many ways. To fear God is to hate evil. The man who knows God hates the evil of his own heart and life, hates the evil performed by others, hates the evil of false doctrine, which robs God of His glory, and hates those who perpetrate such evil. “Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee?...I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies” (Psalm 139:21-22).
Quench Not We are urged to jealously guard the blessed joy of our communion with God, “walking in the fear of the Lord,” when the Apostle admonishes us to “quench not” and “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.” Fearing the Lord, we take great care not to offend Him. We cherish our fellowship with the eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Therefore we take care not to grieve and offend Him. We want nothing to hinder the fellowship we enjoy with God our Savior.
Withhold Nothing The heart that fears the Lord withholds nothing from Him, no matter how dear and valuable, when He calls for it. To fear the Lord is to worship Him. It is to worship God, as He is revealed in Scripture, in our hearts. Such fear of the Lord is a continual and progressive thing. Believers walk in the fear of the Lord. The more we know Him, the more we fear Him. Blessed Holy Spirit, give me grace day by day, that I may be found “walking in the fear of the Lord.” Amen.
Don Fortner
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