There are hundreds of fears and phobias that have identified, but someone once said all fear comes down to three types: healthy fear, harmful fear, and holy fear.Healthy fear is the fear of doing something that may be dangerous or life threatening.  A young child learns to avoid playing too close to the road or not to jump out of a tree. It’s a healthy caution that protects us by putting up safeguards in our lives.Harmful fear is that is unnecessary and often illogical. It’s a fear that paralyzes us and keeps us from moving forward. Concerning this kind of fear, the Apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:7 - “"God has not given you the spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind”Holy fear is a deep reverence and awe of God. When the fear of the Lord is greater than my fear of failure, inadequacy, rejection, or inferiority,God is able to mold and make me into the man He desires me to be.Sometimes the smallest, simplest verses in the Bible are the most powerful and impactful.  This week I was reading in Proverbs and came across this verse:Proverbs 9:10 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”“Fear of the Lord” appears 69 times in scripture. Until we understand who God is and develop a reverential fear of Him, we cannot have true wisdom. True wisdom comes only from understanding who God is and that He is holy, just, and righteous.What does it mean to live in the fear of the Lord?Each of us will give an account of our lives to God, and He is fully aware of everything we think, desire, speak, and do. The fear of the Lord is an awareness of these truths. It can be defined as a continual awareness that you are in the presence of a holy, just, and almighty God, and that every motive, thought, word, and action is open before Him and will be judged by Him.The fear of the Lord is giving God the glory, honor, reverence, gratitude, praise, and preeminence he deserves.  God holds this preeminent position in our hearts and lives.  We regard his desires over and above our own.  Oswald Chambers once wrote that...”The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”It’s interesting that Proverbs says “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Wisdom, as God defines it, is living according to God’s Word.  Wisdom is found in obedience.  If we obey God, if we surrender our lives to his will, is we submit to his authority in our lives, we have wisdom.  It’s amazing how things work out when we do it God’s way!When we have the proper awe, reverence, and respect for God in our lives we willingly say yes to living God’s way.  When we recognize who God is, when we see him for who he is, we will fear him.  We will revere him.  We will be serious about what He says in his word.Paul Tripp – “When there is no awe of God in our lives, we quickly become in awe of ourselves.”  If you are not living for God, the only alternative is to live for yourself.Believers are not to be scared of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshiping Him in awe.Today’s Challenge: So how can you and I live in the fear of the Lord? It all begins with you making a conscious decision to let God have his way in your life.  You decide that God really is worthy of awe and reverence.  It’s a decision to give God your life and allegiance.

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