What Is The Fear Of The Lord?

If we knew that all of our secret thoughts, words, and actions would be displayed publicly so that everyone could watch them and evaluate them, it would make a profound difference in the way we live! We have an instinctive concern about what others think of us and how they will judge the things we do.

If we have this much concern over what other men and women think of us and our actions, how much more should we be concerned about God’s evaluation of our thoughts, words, actions, attitudes, and motives?

The Assurance That God Is Watching

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 following Scriptures discuss God’s knowledge of our lives and assure us of the coming judgment:

• “The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes look on the poor man: his eyelids examine the sons of men.” (Psalm 11:4).
• “He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? or he that formed the eye, doth he not consider?” (Psalm 94:9).
• “thou hast know my sitting down, and my rising up.
  Thou hast understood my thoughts afar off. . . . For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. . . . Yea, But darkness shall not be dark to thee, and night shall be light as day: the darkness thereof, and the light thereof are alike to thee. ” (Psalm 139:2, 4, and 12).
• “The Lord beholdeth the ways of man, and considereth all his steps.” (Proverbs 5:21).
• “The eyes of the Lord in every place behold the good and the evil.” (Proverbs 15:3).
• “ For my eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, and their iniquity hath not been hid from my eyes.” (Jeremiah 16:17).
• “For there is not any thing secret that shall not be made manifest, nor hidden, that shall not be known and come abroad.” (Luke 8:17).
• “For whatsoever things you have spoken in darkness, shall be published in the light: and that which you have spoken in the ear in the chambers, shall be preached on the housetops.” (Luke 12:3).
• “For we must all be manifested before the judgement seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil.” (II Corinthians 5:10).

The fear of the Lord is one of the most valuable treasures that we can gain, because God is our Creator, and if we are to find true success, we have to live according to His design. He knows what is best for our lives. As we gain wisdom about His ways and choose to value what He values, we will mature as His children and our lives will be blessed.