#21.7 - Sevensational: The Spirit of the Fear of The Lord
Annnd we finally made it to The Fear of The Lord!!! It’s interesting getting to this point, because I have certainly experienced significant push back from the enemy during this series. This is also why I have been so determined to keep up with writing each week…even if it’s not exactly how I want it…even if it isn’t on time like I prefer…even if it is one-handed. Good. I will not be silenced by the enemy our Abba already defeated…we KNOW the battles AND wars belong to The Lord. I’ve written plenty of content on trust because it fits into EVERY characteristics of the Holy Spirit (who Holy Spirit is)…our divinely sent helper we can trust from God…bestowed to us from Jesus. That being said…Holy Spirit wants me to begin this blog with seemingly two seemingly obvious questions:
“Can you trust someone you don’t honor or respect?”
“Can you trust someone you are terrified of?”
I know my personal answer to both of those questions simply is: “No.” Though keep in mind…I am a human and being authentic. It’s no secret that trust has a tendency to be a fickle element in our human lives as we have all encountered emotional, mental, and physical pain from others and even sometimes ourselves. I believe trust requires honor and respect (hint hint: The Fear of The Lord). Here’s the spiritual kicker…if we are filled with Holy Spirit, willingly accepted Jesus into our hearts, and are respectful children of God who possess a deep longing to honor Him…trust, honor and respect are essential for that divine relationship to thrive because we are called to walk by faith (see last week’s blog)…not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). I’m going to take a moment to reflect…I can honestly say…I’ve never seen the face of God but I have without a doubt heard His unmistakable voice; my near death experience in 2020 (#Satisfied 2:4) and in a dream after that where I was given a new name like Simon Peter (#Satisfied 2:5). So…here I am (a human) understanding from both sides that having a relationship with anyone let alone a spiritual relationship with God whom we cannot see, can feel contradicting with the nature of our humanity to live by sight…this is where trust and faith comes in.
Just because we cannot see God doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist, move, favor, or love us…He gave us His word to know Him deeper…He gave us His ONLY son so we could be saved by grace and to have a direct relationship with Him, He gave us His Spirit to help guide us in our humanity…we are still able to communicate with Him by hearing, speaking with (prayer or conversation), obeying our callings, and witnessing God’s movement. Here’s some personal examples: Noncoincidentally enough…as MGST and I continue through the Bible beginning to end, we are now in Deuteronomy where in verse 4:12 it is written, “You kept hearing the sound of words, but didn’t see a form; there was only a voice.”. MGST very recently and “out of the blue” asked me what my definition of faith is and to “not ask why” (it was later revealed that it was related to something different but full circle…this bridge was exactly what I needed for this blog). I reflected deeply on the random question that put me on the spot yet after my short reflection the words rolled off my lips fluidly and confidently. To me, faith is an undeniable belief in a truth we ecosystemically know, trust in, and are loyal to without human knowledge (our own understanding) or any other explanations fortifying it. Applying that definition to having a faithful (not sight filled) relationship with The Holy Trinity physically looks like reading God’s Word (Bible) frequently (daily IMO) because that’s how we get to know Him more, following the way, truth, and life of Jesus, and keeping ourselves open in free-willed obedience filled with Holy Spirit…our choices and lifestyles on Earth should be solidly impacted by our faith; in other words…our talk and our walk should authentically match (these disciplines and behaviors also develop trust). If you cannot honor, respect, (hint hint: Fear of The Lord) or cultivate a divine relationship (as described above) with our creator…how can we trust Him? It reminds me of the saying, “No trust…no love.” -OR- we can choose to “Know trust and know love.”. To know God is to know love…knowing God requires faith (see my definition of faith above and what a healthy relationship with Him looks like above).. Knowing The Lord and trusting in The Lord are pivotal to and in our faith. So…with all of this trust talk…lets’s go back to question #1 from Holy Spirit (with a spin) and ask yourself:
“Can you trust God if you don’t honor or respect Him?”
Respect and honor are vital elements within the true definition of The Fear of The Lord…the last characteristic Isaiah writes about in Isaiah 11:2.
What are some things you think about when you hear or rather read the words “ honor and respect”? I initially think of positivity as those words are positive things as opposed to the word “terrified”. Believe it or not…there are actually different types of defined fear (which I didn’t realize until writing this). Before I go further, I want to make it known that I am not Catholic, however I value knowledge I am led to by Holy Spirit through thoughtful research and using the gift of discernment on. I know I have used definitions from Catholic Culture before and I’m about to do it again; in my research for The Fear of The Lord I came across Catholic Culture’s definition of Servile Fear. I am a logophile (shocking I know seeing as I write and all-LOL) so when I read a word it is instinctive for me to piece it apart…so when I read “Servile”, I immediately saw the word “vile” and felt negativity towards it. Researching the prefix “ser” was interesting because Etymonline gave me, “to protect/preserve (serve is an interesting piece apart from that)”, “to line up/assert”. One could even go a bit further with the Spanish language as “ser” means “to be”. Merriam Webster’s Definition of “Vile” and “Fear” have common negative themes other than the acknowledgment of The Fear of The Lord which included one out of ten-ish (I count the sub definitions that make sense to me - plus 1/10 = unique…set apart…holy) definitions. So Merriam Webster’s definition of Fear of The Lord is “to have a reverential (Reverence = Honor and Respect) awe of”. Going back to Catholic Culture’s definition of servile fear: “Selfish fear based on dread of pain to oneself that would follow if another were offended. It is the fear of punishment for wrongdoing, without being motivated by honor or a sense of duty, and least of all by love. Theologically, however, servile fear may co-exist with filial fear. There is nothing incompatible in both loving and fearing God. The object of loving him is the divine goodness, of fearing him for divine justice. However, purely servile fear, with no love of God but only self-love that fears the divine punishments, is at least in theory, inconsistent with the true love of God.” That doesn't necessarily sound like a fear I’d want to live in however I have certainly experienced. Then we have Catholic Culture’s definition of “Filial Fear” (as in from a son or daughter to a parent), “Fear of some impending evil based on love and reverence for the one who is feared. Actually filial fear is close to love that dreads offending the one loved. Thus the filial fear of God is compatible with the highest love of God. A person, knowing his or her moral weakness, fears that he or she might displease or betray the one who is loved. It is selfless fear. (Etym. Latin filial, becoming of a child in relation to its parents.).” Essentially there is selfless and selfish fear. Fear of The Lord is selfless reverence (honor, respect, awe) freely given to Abba. As opposed to our everyday definition of fear as we know it. Author Dan Brown wrote in his book, The Lost Symbol, “We all fear what we do not understand.” I find this to be accurate with culture rebuking and denying God, so I am going to end this paragraph with a philosophically rhetorical question (in lieu of question #2 from the beginning of the blog) for you to privately pray about and ponder upon with the thought in mind that humans typically fear what we don’t know and the way culture is progressing: “If one does not have faith and take the time to understand (know and trust) and fear (honor, respect, awe) God…is one living in fear as we know it (selfish fear)?”
I’m going to get very personal for a moment. I’ve been ecosystemically struggling lately as I’ve felt…overwhelmed, worthless, and fearful (the selfish kind). Why? I’m physically restricted with my medical issues occurring. Working in a cast and with vertigo isn’t an option…so no paychecks coming in to contribute to our family…and became in jeopardy of losing the job that I’ve wanted for so long. Housework, bills, responsibilities have doubled on MGST. I’ve had little energy to do much of anything as I can’t do simple things like get dressed, do my hair (a confidence booster-let’s be real…I’m the daughter of a cosmetologist), play my instruments (which hurts the most)…etc. because of health and discouragement. The depression of being restricted is troubling because I have had days I just simply don’t want to be here anymore (I’m safe-I promise). I’ve been in open and honest therapy during all this but today…I felt at my lowest. MGST was speaking life into me that was biblically backed up one morning. After he left I sobbed (I hate crying) and cried out to God, “God…why?! I don’t understand!!! I’m in Your word daily. I pray. I help others as I can. I keep my faith. Why is this all happening?! I used to be energetic, healthy, and happy!!!” Eventually, I took MGST’s advice and got up and did what I could around the house (I do this daily already but don’t feel it’s ever enough). As I’m rinsing dishes…I got a VIM (Very Important Message) from Holy Spirit, “The enemy doesn’t want to attack you to be on his side…you’re nothing to him (useless) in his grand scheme of things. The enemy wants to attack you because you’re valuable to God (who is love), His plan for you, and the ability to go and impact brothers and sisters that pursue His kingdom with unparalleled faith and keep hope close to their hearts. The enemy incessantly will continue to try to prevent anyone or anything valuable to help the kingdom of God or to belong to God.” I’ve felt worthless…not valuable in this process. I’m not being attacked because of wrongdoing…it’s because I’m actually valuable to God and the enemy knows it. Within the following 10 minutes I got word from my work that my job is safe until the end of April and I should begin to get 60% of my paychecks through their short term disability program. The slogan for this blog applies: “There are NO coincidences with God,” God moves…I just needed to trust Him with my tears…I trust Him with everything else but He wanted it ALL…this means I had to cry. It’s difficult to cry with all I’ve been through and the tendency to biochemically disconnect due to trauma. However I learned something important…my tears, cries, and myself are valuable to Abba; it’s appalling how culture and the enemy tries to impact our self esteem. We are called to be set apart from the world/culture…which means we should treat the people God puts in our paths differently through biblical community/relationships. When we care about our relationships, we give our ALL to them and nurture them…the relationship we have with Abba is no different. Holding back even one thing from Abba…could be detrimental to His plan for you and the one thing He wants and needs you to surrender to Him…won’t FEEL easy…but know it will always be WORTH it to give Him your ALL EVERY TIME. ALL of God’s children are valuable to Him and He is always making a way for us. Thank you Abba and thank you for the prayers brothers and sisters. Thank you MGST for your love, support, and being an open vessel for Yahweh.
I am SO done and over with the enemy’s attacks and feeling fear…so after lots of prayer…I found Biblical references to fight back because I cannot do it alone. If you’re struggling with similar attacks that induce fear…ready yourself for battle (Ephesians 6:10), read the following stages of attack, and most of all have faith to know the battle is already won.
Stage 1: Confusion
Question to pray on:
What are some ways that the enemy can try to interfere with The Fear of The Lord by using confusion?
God’s Knowledge:
Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
Stage 2: Chaos
Question to pray on:
What are some ways that the enemy can try to interfere with The Fear of The Lord by using chaos?
God’s Knowledge:
With the concept that chaos is the physical form of confusion in mind:
A promise from God we can live in: 2 Timothy 1:7, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
A calling from God to move on and live in: Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.
Stage 3: Theft
Question to pray on:
What are some ways that the enemy can try to interfere with The Fear of The Lord by using theft?
God’s Knowledge:
2 Corinthians 7:1, “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”
Completion = whole…no part taken from us.
Stage 4: Destroy
Question to pray on:
What are some ways that the enemy can try to interfere with The Fear of The Lord by using destruction?
God’s Knowledge:
Proverbs 19:23 “The fear of the Lord leads to life; one will sleep at night without danger.”
Stage 5: Kill
Question to pray on:
What are some ways that the enemy can try to interfere with The Fear of The Lord by killing?
God’s Knowledge:
Proverbs 14:27, “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.”
Songs of the Week:
"Fear of The Lord" - Mitch Wong
&
I am going to end this blog with scripture: Psalm 147:11
“the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
I will be taking a warm rest filled break from blogging:
April 11th will be my next blog!!!
During this time I am going to reset an allow Holy Spirit to guide me on what I am write next.
So stay tuned!!!
For The Fear of The Lord, honor, respect, faith, hope, The Bible AKA “Manual for Life”, trust, God’s truth, authenticity, discernment, research, relationships, biblical community, surrender, tears, cries, understanding, for divinely led restful brakes, God giving me MGST, God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit…I am…
#Satisfied
