How to Fear the Lord

Proverbs 3:7 tells us the fear of the Lord is to turn away from evil. Job knew this fear (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3). The fear of the Lord is showing respect for authority. You don’t respect those whom you don’t obey. If you have no fear of authority, you will not only transgress God’s laws, but man’s also. The fear we have is of punishment. God brings our ways back on our own heads daily (Col. 3:25). When all our ways are good, then our lives become a continual blessing (Psalm 25:8-10). God blesses this kind of person continually because his life becomes a blessing to others as well as himself (Luke 6:38; Psalm 18:20-21).

God’s laws warn a man what will happen to him if he transgresses or breaks those laws, but there is great reward in keeping them (Psalm 19:11). By fearing and obeying the Lord, you will be prosperous, but you must allow the Lord to teach you, by studying God’s word daily (Psalm 25:12-13; 27:11; 32:8-9). He will keep you alive in famine and protect you from death (Psalm 37:19; 33:18-19).

This is the fear of the Lord: To depart from evil by doing good, cease using filthy, perverse language and stop lying, and make all your ways pleasing to the Lord (Psalm 34:11-16; 37:27; 1 Peter 3:10-13).

The Lord does not despise those who are His—those who fear Him and begin to obey Him (Psalm 69:33). You must realize that God sees and hears everything you do and will repay you for all your deeds—good for good and evil for evil (Psalm 94:8-9; Prov. 5:21; 20:12).

When you meditate on and continually think of God’s Ways and how you can please Him, you will no longer be thinking of what is evil (Psalm 104:34). Practice righteousness at all times for the Lord (Psalm 106:3). Know that the Lord does good to those who are good and do good (Psalm 125:4). How can you be good unless you do good for God? Job knew how to be good and so do God’s true sheep (Job 29:12, 16; Matt. 25:33-40). Therefore, we are to fear the Lord by doing good for others daily.