The Fear that Draws Us Near
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
Proverbs 1:7a
Next week I’ll begin teaching a ten-week women’s Bible study entitled “The Wise Woman’s Bucket List.” A “bucket list” is defined as a list of things to do or achieve before one dies. About ten years ago I heard a speaker say, “There’s no good way to study the book of Proverbs. It’s so random.” Something about that comment unsettled me. Somehow I found it incomprehensible that the God of cosmos stuck a random book of memorable maxims right in the center of our Bible and then called it “wisdom.”
As I began studying the book of Proverbs, I saw a divine order and design that extended far beyond the 31 chapter divisions, one for each day of the month. During that year I eventually landed on the ten important categories that comprise the Wise Woman’s Bucket List for obtaining a life of wisdom. Every verse in Proverbs can be “mapped” or traced to one of the following categories (buckets):
Each one of those categories is essential to living a life of godly wisdom. And there’s an order to the way the categories are arranged. Without a fear of the Lord, we won’t guard our hearts. If our hearts aren’t guarded, then we won’t watch our words; maintain right relationships; control our appetites; or develop any of the other actions on the list. If we don’t pursue our work, we won’t have money to manage. Without cultivating character we won’t walk in wisdom or know God the way we were created to do.
Proverbs begins and ends with the fear of the Lord. (Proverbs 1:7, 31:30) But what exactly is the fear of the Lord? Is it being scared to death of God like the Israelites at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20) or is it something different? Is it the reverential awe and respect that God rightly deserves as being God Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth? Or is it something more? It turns out the “fear of the Lord” is an important sacred echo running throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Dr. Kevin DeYoung, one of my favorite authors, defines it this way: “The Fear of the Lord is the fear that draws us near.”
Think about that for a moment. Most of the time when we experience fear, our internal God-designed “fight or flight” system kicks in and we run away from whatever is causing our fear. Soldiers and first responders have to be trained to run TOWARD the fear. So do we.
I recently kept our three young granddaughters while their parents were on an overnight anniversary trip. As bedtime neared, we had a short devotional and the girls said their prayers. Six-year old Caroline, a first grader, prayed that she would sleep well and not have bad dreams.
Under normal circumstances I might not have thought too much about Caroline’s prayer requests, instead delegating them to the typical concerns of a young child. But the last year has been anything BUT typical for six-year olds (and the rest of us too!!) dealing with the Covid pandemic, face masks, proper hand hygiene, social distancing, virtual learning, sickness, and death as a part of everyday life.
“Caroline, what happens when you have a bad dream?” I gently asked her.
“Daddy lets me come and sleep on their bedroom floor,” Caroline answered.
“Well, if you have a bad dream tonight, you can come and sleep on Mia’s floor if you like,” I responded.
“Thanks, Mia!” And with that reassurance, the girls went to bed.
Sometime during the night, I woke up just sensing that something wasn’t quite right. As I strained to listen for one of the girls, I realized that someone was indeed sleeping on the floor just beside my bed. In fact, I almost stepped on her because she was so close.
“Caroline?” I asked into the darkness. “Is that you? Would you like to get in bed with Mia?”
“No, Mia,” she responded. “I’ll just stay here on the floor.”
And with that exchange we both went back to sleep. Caroline’s fear had drawn her near and just being near brought comfort, calmed nerves, and provided rest.
That’s a real-life illustration to show us what “fear of the Lord” really is. It’s a healthy fear that draws us near to God. Instead of being scared to death and running from Him, the fear of the Lord teaches us to run TO him just as Caroline sought her Daddy’s presence in the midst of her fear.
Proverbs 1:7 summarizes the theme verse for Proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” but it’s just that: the beginning. Over 31 chapters, the authors of Proverbs teach us that there are only two paths to follow: wisdom or folly. Wisdom leads to life; folly leads to death. Next time we ‘ll look at the many different aspects of what it means to fear the Lord.
Fear of the Lord- the fear that draws us near!