Confidence From Fear of the LORD

This morning I begin a study of the word “confidence”. I start with a passage in Job and see that I am to have confidence from the LORD and the fear of Him.

“⁵But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;

it touches you, and you are dismayed.”

— Job 4:5 (ESV)

Look at the words of Eliphaz the Temanite above to Job. It is natural for us to feel subjected to many a difficult time and circumstance. And this can lead to doubt and fear. We are going to feel all that is bad and ugly as though it is directed at us. Society and the world does not understand and that lack of understanding creates fear in their own life and they want for all to feel the same way.

“⁶Is not your fear of God your confidence,

and the integrity of your ways your hope?”

— Job 4:6 (ESV)

Now we have fear as well, yet that fear is in the LORD and instead of allowing it and the world of society to create doubt and fear in us, it should create confidence beyond understanding. With the fear of the LORD and the confidence that comes, we are to be strong like a lion and get out into the world.

“¹⁰The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,

the teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.”

— Job 4:10-11 (ESV)

The lion is not deterred by the world. They will continue until there is no more way to continue. Notice that they will “perish for lack of prey”. That is not that we are to seek others as prey, but more that we are to continue with the confidence of the lion in that there is nothing that can be overcome.

The lion continues providing and protecting and caring for their world and we should be doing the same. We cannot let the world defeat us. We have to go through the world with the confidence that we will overcome. That confidence comes from our fear of the LORD. When we tap into that confidence we will not be defeated.

What does your confidence look like? Are you confident in only a few things? What if you were like the lion and had confidence in all things and drew on the confidence that you get from your fear of the LORD?

Guidelines for Righteous

I am a sinner who needs guidance in my life to ensure that I am on the path God would have me on. I am not able to do it on my own.

“⁷The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise the simple;

⁸the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

⁹the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.”

— Psalm 19:7-9 (ESV)

And there it is, the guideline for me in my navigation of this world. These are telling me that the LORD is the guideline. That is all I need to know and where I should look to for the guidance in avoiding sin.

God’s Word is where I have to look. He has provided the road map for me to reach righteous. As I recently wrote, righteous comes from Him. He is the place to go when needing direction. And that direction is needed at all times.

Yes, I am a born again Christian saved by the grace of God and some might think that I have reached the pinnacle of the Christian faith. And where I have been forgiven of my sins, I have not been made sinless.

Just yesterday I committed sins that I continue to commit. I seem to get tempted into them and find it difficult to avoid. The LORD sees and feels my sin and loves me anyway. He waits for me to repent, knowing that I will continue to struggle with that sin. And He forgives me. He knows that I am His and that when I come to Him I am repentant. He knows I don’t “want” to sin, that it is just a part of me being a sinner.

The LORD has placed this media in my path as a way to share my thoughts on His Word. I will again say that I am not a biblical or theological scholar by any means. I am just a sinner who is working to do the will of God and share Him with as many I can. I am not afraid for you hear that I struggle with sin as you are the same as I in that respect.

I am not asking anyone to see me as righteous as only God can declare me righteous. I can only do things that will be considered righteous. I can do those things that are in God’s plan and impact the people in my life with His Word. I need a guideline and outline of how to go about doing those righteous things. In God’s Word I find what I need. Here in the verses above I see the guidance toward those righteous things. Following the law, testimony, precepts, commandments, fear, and the rules of the LORD lead me in the right path.

What are your guidelines? Are you looking to the world to get you on target? What if you followed the LORD and used His Word as your guidelines for righteous?

God Promises Fruitfulness, Now Act Accordingly

I have come to the last entry in my concordance with regard to fruitfulness, which means I will be moving to another word to study in God’s Word. Today I have the honor of learning to act accordingly. God made the promises that He would make me fruitful thanks to my reverence, obedience, and fear of Him. Now it is up to me to follow through and live out my end of the promise and He will certainly live out His end.

“¹¹And I will multiply on you man and beast, and they shall multiply and be fruitful. And I will cause you to be inhabited as in your former times, and will do more good to you than ever before. Then you will know that I am the LORD.” – Ezekiel 36:11 (ESV)

The above is from Ezekiel’s prophesy to the Mountain of Israel. Ezekiel foretold the fruitfulness that will befall us. I am grateful for having God’s Word to read and review and learn from. I know what is to be going on with me and my life and relationship with God. I will fear, be reverent, and be obedient to Him and in turn, He will make me fruitful and multiply.

The thing I have to remember is that God’s promise of fruitfulness is contingent on my acting accordingly. I will not receive the blessings and then have the opportunity to worship Him. I worship Him and then He provides. I have to do the work, knowing that God will do His part according to His promise. This all starts with my giving of my life to the LORD by accepting His gift of salvation. And once I have accepted salvation, I am driven to continue in awe of the LORD.

The LORD has promised to provide for me. He will make me fruitful and will bless me as I wander this world. It is up to me to act according to those ways in demonstration of my love and reliance on Him.

What are you doing to act accordingly? Are you expecting God to do His part and then you do yours? What if you were to do your part and be in fear, be reverent, and be obedient of/to the LORD and KNOW the He will fulfill His promise of fruitfulness?