Fear of the Lord...

Awesome God

"'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!' they cried one to the other. 'All the earth is filled with His glory!' At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was filled with smoke." --Isaiah, 6:3-4

The fear of the Lord is of supreme importance since it is the beginning of wisdom and possibly the beginning of most of the other gifts of the Spirit (Is. 11:3). The fear of the Lord is an awe in God's presence. It means being in the throne room of God with all the angels and saints. It is sometimes called "piety." It is the last and most important of the gifts listed in Isaiah 11. We should receive this gift first, because we receive the other spiritual gifts most bountifully when we have this awareness of God's awesome presence and person. The fear of the Lord permeates all the spiritual gifts, not only preceding the reception of gifts but also deepening as the spiritual gifts are exercised. After Pentecost, "a reverent fear overtook them all, for many wonders and signs were performed by the apostles" (Acts, 2:43). The early church made "steady progress in the fear of the Lord" (Acts, 9:31). This is one of the few gifts that will last forever.

Prayer: Triune God, may I want to be in Your presence even more than I want to breathe...amen.
Promise: "Study the generations long past and understand; has anyone hoped in the Lord and been disappointed? Has anyone persevered in His fear and been forsaken?"
--Sirach, 2:10
--Seek the Gifts of the Spirit (2001); Presentation Ministries, Cincinnati, OH.
Nihil obstat, July 13, 2001
Imprimatur, July 17, 2001
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