The fear of God means righteous living!
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, a good understanding have all those who do His commandments, and His praise endures forever. Psalm 111:10.
What does it mean to FEAR God?
To fear the Lord does not mean that we are scared or petrified of God. The fear of the Lord means to have a good relationship with Him based on the reverence, respect, and honour of God.
It is recognising God for who He is; Holy, Almighty, Pure, Righteous, all knowing, all powerful.
In addition, it means the understanding of how much God hates sin and fearing His judgment on sin. Simply put, the fear of God means righteous living!
The fear of God is an attitude to religious practice advocated in many religions. Having the fear of God is most often considered to be a positive sign of spiritual well being. It means respecting Him, obeying Him, submitting to His discipline and worshiping Him.
Anyone living without the fear of God is heading for eternal damnation!
The fear of God is also the beginning of understanding. Wisdom comes only from the understanding of who God is.
You may ask “what has the fear of God got to do with being single? “
In our present times, we are so busy and overwhelmed by our day to day activities and search for daily bread that we do not realise that in the process we have left out the fear of God and inadvertently embraced the fear of man.
We worship, idolise and yield our strengths to things that have no eternal value. We allow the opinions of other people to determine our self worth. As a single lady, it is very easy to focus on how to meet your emotional, financial and material needs whilst taking attention away from the God that has promised to supply all your needs.
Many single ladies are not living righteously. We should seek to live in such a way that pleases Him. Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives.
This is the major problem in our present day society. There is a blatant lack of the fear of God both in and out of the church. Circumstances have led many to compromise their faith and stand in Christ.
There is no longer any difference between the Christian single lady and the unbelieving single lady.
The Bible says: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” .
Sadly many single women despise discipline as many no longer fear God but have allowed their situation and needs to derail them from focusing on God. If we fear anything other than God, we are deceived
Many single women have fallen into the hands of the wrong men through greed and deceit. Some were deceived into compromising their faith in exchange for a night of pleasure. Some have walked away from their God ordained destinies because of negative influences or pressure from family and friends.
Be careful the company you keep, frequent association with friends who have no fear of God will inevitably affect your fear and reverence of God. You need to realise that just because your friend is thriving in her unrighteous way of living does not exempt her from the punishment which awaits her except as she repents.
So do not be tempted to tangle with that married man just because your friends are doing so. The Bible says” Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling!! Psalm 2; 11
Satan is a terrifying master to those under his care, and he always wants the fear due to God but you must never give the fear of God to Satan. Offers from unscrupulous bosses, married men, and lecturers are offers from Satan.
These men are vessels in the hands of Satan and are used to derail children of God from fearing God and fearing Satan. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matt. 10:28
Dressing inappropriately is giving God’s fear to Satan. In some churches nowadays female dressing is a topic of major concern. The necklines of dresses are too low, revealing the breasts. The lengths of skirts are getting shorter and shorter.
We need to re-affirm our status as children of God and followers of Christ, so that the promise of God can be brought to pass in our lives. We need not follow the world.
Individually, we need to fear God, and as a nation, we need to fear God. “Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the people of the world serve Him. “Psalm 33:8. , “And now o Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, but to fear the Lord your God…” Deut 10:12
Recently I had the opportunity of visiting Dubai for the first time during my summer break. Unknown to me it was Ramadan- their season of fasting. Apart from being fascinated by this beautiful and cosmopolitan city, I was astounded at the total commitment of the nation and its citizens to Ramadan.
Total submission, respect and fear of their God was evident all over the city as neither food nor water was sold or served in any public area until 7pm when the fast of the day is declared over. It was also forbidden for any to eat or drink in public, even in your car, during the hours of the fast. In addition, neither alcohol nor live entertainment is allowed till after Ramadan.
I thought to myself, this is the kind of discipline and reverence that our God expects from us in our worship and walk with Him.
I remembered those times that fasts had been declared by the senior pastor in my local assembly and some of us are sitting in the presence of God in church chewing gum. May the Lord have mercy on us. Amen.
As Christians we are expected to show respect and reverence for God in our lives on a daily basis not only during periods of fasting but in everything that we do and say. We need to question ourselves “what do we do that marks us as a follower of Christ?
If we fear God, we fear punishment. Many punishments await those who do not fear God; likewise there are many rewards and promises in the Bible for those who fear God.
“If there is a man who fears the Lord, he shall enjoy lasting prosperity, and his children after him shall inherit the land. The Lord confides his purpose to those who fear Him and His convent is theirs to know”.Psaim 25:12-14
He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress and his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death-prov: 14:26-27
Fear the Lord, all you His holy people, for those who fear Him lack nothing ps.34:9
As a single lady; divorced, widowed, or yet to be married, your prayer should be:
“Teach me your way, O LORD and I will walk in your truth, give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name”: psalm 86:11.
We should not fear that God will let us down, or that He is not faithful, or forgiving. His desire to have us live a holy life is cause for the right kind of godly fear. The Bible tells us that perfect love casteth out fear.
The love of God reflected through Jesus Christ has the power to cast out fear and set us free. There is no fear in love.
Maybe there is an area that God needs to heal in your life so that you can walk in the fear of Him, I join you in faith and break every hold of false worship over your life. As from today, may you begin to live for the Lord and no one else. May the fear of God dominate your every thought and decision. May you glorify Him in all that you do. Amen
If you do not yet know God and will like to know Him, you have to start by giving your life to Him, If you are ready to do so today, please
pray:
Dear God, I come to you today as a sinner, I repent of all my sins and I ask for forgiveness from all sins. Deliver me from my past. Thank you Lord for saving me and for accepting me into the kingdom of your dear son. Amen
Congratulations. If you have just said this prayer or if you have been blessed by this message, I will like to hear from you.
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God bless you!
Modupe Kazeem
