In 2024, Fear the Lord: Gospel Today Devotional - 1st January, 2024

Have you ever seen a child who intends to do something bad, and then refuses to do it? You must have, right? Or maybe that's not the case with you. How about a child who before now had done something wrong, and as a result of the punishment given to him by his parent, he refuses to do such a thing again. One thing you discover may be responsible for this is that fact that the particular child does such as a result of the fear instilled in him by his parent.

They may have said to him that on the account of doing such ever again, they would deprive of him of his basic allowances. They may have even beaten him as a result of the first crime he committed, and so even if the idea to do something bad comes to him, as a result of such fear for his parents, and what they would do to him, the little child comes back to his senses and says no. He says to himself or herself, "Daddy or Mummy will spank me. They will not be pleased with me". This prevents him from doing wrong. Praise God.

Just like the child in our illustration, if we must please the Lord in 2022 and get to experience all that he has planned for us, we must fear (reverence him). Moving forward, in our lesson today, we shall be considering the fear of God, and how it is that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. Praise God. The passage of scripture to be considered is seen below,

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7).

We started by giving an illustration of a child who intends to do something evil but refuses to do it because of the fear instilled in him by his parent, right? Did you notice something? That the knowledge in him not to do wrong and to do the right only came as a result of the fear he has for his parent. It is true if he does it, no one will know but what if they find it will be his thought. The fear of the parent finding out and taking serious actions is that which constrains him from doing the evil he wants to do to doing the right he should do. The fear of his parents is the beginning of the knowledge he has. Is this clear? Did you get the picture?

The same thing the scripture seeks to explain to us about God. Just as any parent will not be happy if his child does wrong, so God will not be happy when we do things that contradict his nature at work in us. So, the scripture says that the fear (respect, honour, reverence for God) is the beginning (the very foundation) of knowledge. But knowledge about what? Knowledge about that which is good and evil, right and wrong, pleasing to God and so much so that at every point in time, we would do that which alone is right, which alone is good, and which alone is acceptable to God.

It is when we have the fear of God in our hearts that we would refuse to forge the signature, steal, lie, be unfaithful to our spouses. It is the fear of God that enables us to eschew evil as believers just as Job and Joseph. We do not fear God because he would punish us when we do wrong unlike our parents, we fear (honour, respect, reverence) and will do no evil against him just like Joseph said because we love him. To fear of the Lord is to hate evil, and the knowledge about evil and good comes as a result of the fear of the Lord which is the beginning (the foundation) of such knowledge such that we only do that which is good and acceptable before him and eschew evil. Do you fear (reverence, honour and respect the Lord)? In 2022, fear the Lord. The Lord cause these words to sink in our hearts. Amen.

Thought for the Day

The fear of the Lord is the beginning (the foundation) of the knowledge of good and evil, right and wrong to the end that you may eschew evil and only do that which is good and acceptable before him. In 2022, fear the Lord.

Gospel Today is a comforting, exhorting, edifying and inspiring devotional published by the Delightsome Land Christian Ministry. For questions, enquiries/testimonies, please call/WhatsApp: 08174915361, 08053662272 or Email: [email protected].