The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7
Basic Principle:
Fearing God is the foundation of sound knowledge. With this utmost respect and trust, we can then understand God’s proper place as the Creator and open our hearts to gain more knowledge and apply it by submitting to godly wisdom and instruction.
Experiences and Observations:
Knowledge. Oh I thought I had knowledge when I got married. I knew just who I was going to be, who my husband was going to be, and how our children would be. My life was planned out, and I knew exactly how things were going to go in our family. Oh the foolishness of my young mind!
Fast forward 18 years later.
After butting heads with my husband over and over and having two kids with totally different personalities, I know now I hadn’t a clue what I was getting myself into, and neither does most people.
You see, when two people start a family, they only know what they know and most of that comes from ideas ingrained in them from their own family life. Never do two people grow up in the exact same family, so never will they have the exact same idea of the day to day details of how a family should function. However, if the foundation is solid — preferably with both people — then the door can be open to learn and grow. That foundation is the fear of the Lord.
What does the fear of the Lord mean? Does it mean I’m shaking in my boots all the time in dreadful fear of God? Well, maybe I should to an extent, but not exactly.
It means that I have the utmost honor and respect of God above all else. That I recognize Him as the ultimate source of what’s good and right because He is the Creator. This fear puts God in His proper place in my mind and is expressed through my willingness to submit to His will by my actions in trusting that He knows best no matter my limited understanding.
And with the fear of the Lord as my foundation — though some of my ideas of marriage and parenting were originally skewed and had to be revamped — I am learning more and more what it means to be a wife and a mother in our family. By doing what’s tough in putting my trust in God first and foremost, I have been able to open my heart to eventually put away some faulty ideas and willfully submit to my Creator’s wisdom and instruction.
Practical Applications:
If you’re going to make the fear of the Lord the foundation in your family life, you must realize that fearing the Lord is not only the beginning, but an ongoing process that must be maintained by you. While it’s best for the whole family to be unified in this effort, you must determine to do this independent of others decisions. Here’s 3 key ways how:
- Get more knowledge – Knowledge is to basically know information about something. To get more knowledge of God and His will, you must daily read and study from your primary resource, the bible. If you don’t know how or where you should start, ask someone.
- Earnestly seek wisdom – To have knowledge of something is not enough. You must be able to apply that knowledge. That is wisdom. Pray for it, look to godly examples in God’s word, reach out to other faithful Christians for advice, practice the commands of God to the best of your ability each day, and you will gain wisdom. Wisdom is crying out from everywhere. Earnestly seek it and you will find it.
- Listen to instruction – In seeking wisdom, your heart must be open to instruction. Don’t be the fool that thinks you have it all together. Just like wisdom, look for it amongst the faithful and especially take note when it’s given in the form of rebuke. From sermons, individuals, books, writings, and the like, examine the instruction and if you find it to be sound or applicable to your life, apply it.
Act today:
All solid foundations start with small, intentional actions that grow into big results over time. Start putting these 3 keys into action with where you’re at right now by answering and acting on at least one of these questions:
- Do you fear God? If not, why? Where or to whom can you go to test your answer?
- What daily routine can you establish to get you in God’s word everyday?
- How are you struggling to keep the fear of the Lord as the foundation in your life? What biblical knowledge do you have that you can pull from to help in this struggle?
- What crucial area do you feel you are lacking in knowledge? What are you going to do to change that?
- Who can you talk to today for wisdom and instruction with a specific challenge you are facing?
- Who can you share and discuss this writing with so you can learn from each other?
[feel free to comment on this blog if you’d like to share your answers or insight]
God always gives us what we need to keep Him as the foundation. He’s the Creator of the family, and every family is blessed by each individual that submits to God as their guide. Fear the Lord and never forget to pray.
Prayer:
I fear You, my LORD, and in that fear I know this is where I begin my life with You as my solid foundation. I will continue on this path by gaining more knowledge, earnestly seeking wisdom, and listening to sound instruction. I know these efforts will not only be a blessing to my life, but to my family as well. Please help me to keep my heart open to listen and change wherever necessary as I put You first and foremost as my guide in how to best fulfill my God-given role in my family. Amen.
Truth in love,
Heather
Truth in Love 