Daily Devotionals

The Fear of the Lord

Posted in Wisdom

Scripture: “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears are open to their cry.

The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of their troubles.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

The Lord redeems the souls of His servants, and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.” – Psalm 34: 11, 15, 17-18, 22 (New American Standard Bible)

 

I remember loving to sing the King James Version of Psalm 34 (“Come ye children, harken unto me….”). The message in this Psalm is wisdom, or more importantly, the acquisition of wisdom. How does that happen? 

 

Psalm 111:10 tells us that “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” I learned from a commentary that “fear of the Lord” means reverence and love for him, and that it’s often connected with obedience to him.

 

Today’s scripture from Psalm 34 tells us that we can gain wisdom through our devotion and love for the Lord. Proverbs 14:33 tells us that, “Wisdom is at home in the mind of one who has understanding, but it is not known in the heart of fools.” 

 

When I think of wisdom, I immediately think of my mother because she was the wisest woman I have ever known. A few of her adages were: “Don’t worry about the future. Whatever bad you think might happen probably won’t,” and “Don’t try to figure out what others are thinking… our suppositions are almost always wrong.” My favorite is “Trust in the Lord!” 

 

Once when driving Mother to see her sister in a D.C. area hospital, I somehow took a wrong turn, and we found ourselves in a very bad section of D.C.  I was becoming very worried and a little scared, when Mother wisely said, “Trust in the Lord.” I pulled into a service station where a lady was filling her gas tank. Not sure how she would react to me, I asked her if she could give us directions to the hospital. Her gracious reply: “Follow me. I will take you there.” And she did.

 

Prayer: Dear Lord, we love and revere you. May we always trust in you and, with your help, acquire the wisdom and understanding to serve you better. you are our refuge and our strength and the source of all wisdom. Amen. 

 

Submitted by Doris Stapel