“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His instructions have good insight. His praise endures forever?” Psalm 111:10a CSB
I was raised with the fear of God in me. My parents instilled a reverential awe for God in my life that no human has ever compared. My parents taught me how to answer this question: Do you care more about what God thinks or people think? Constantly, that was the question posed to me in my childhood, it is instilled so deeply in me, I doubt I will ever stop answering it. Every situation I face in life, I ask the question, God or man. The answer is always the same, God. I know how powerful God is, I’ve seen His work in my life and in the lives of others. I feel like I’ve spent my entire life chasing after God. The more I’ve learned about Him, the less I know. Which brings me to my ultimate point: We’re always at the beginning.
No matter how many times I’ve read the Bible, each day is like I’ve never read it before. I always discover a verse I’ve never seen, yet know I have read. The other day, my husband and I were driving down a road we use regularly. I noticed a restaurant I had never seen before but has obviously been there for decades. I discovered something new that had been right in front of my eyes. Each time I open up the Bible and read, I discover something new. The verse I’ve read but never noticed, speaks directly to me. I feel like I’m at the beginning of the journey, there’s so much still to learn. And when we apply that strategy to our fears, change the question slightly: God or fear? God is always bigger than any fear we have. David always slays the Giant, with God in his corner. We can do the same, we just have to start at the beginning.
When we start at the beginning with our fear, and that beginning is God, He will always provide the answer we need. Solomon tells us, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9 NIV). There is no fear you have, God doesn’t have an answer for today. We’re always at the beginning, each day is new. Each day we get to answer the simple question: God or fear? Which one are we going to let control us, the choice is ours. The beauty is, God is always waiting. Even if you’ve chosen fear, God is still there waiting for you to choose Him.
