Fear of the Lord Benefits
Our first thoughts about fearing God, especially if these are natural thoughts, is that most entries are going to be on the minus side of the ledger. So why bother? Who wants to live in fear anyway?
Wrong question, but that is how people think.
The Bible gives us the other side of this story by pointing out several benefits secured by having a fear of the Lord. One of these is victory over an enemy.
In II Chronicles 14:14 we read of how the fear of the Lord came upon people, a fear that subsequently promoted an unpredictable victory. This fear was obviously a work of God, because man, by desire and ingenuity, didn’t and couldn’t work this kind of fear up.
Similarly, in I Samuel 11:7 we read that the fear of the Lord “fell” on people—whereupon once again another seemingly impossible victory was won.
So how did this emotion-lifting, situation-transforming fear come? According to the biblical record, it didn’t come from man—that is, from the bottom up. Instead, Scripture says it “fell,” indicating its origin was from above!
Having all knowledge, God knew that victory could only come after the fear of the Lord arrived.
In Jeremiah 32:40 God says it straight out, “... I will put My fear in their hearts.” This is always something God takes upon himself to do; and, according to the last part of this verse, its most desired of all effects will be this: “They shall not depart from Me.”
So, if there’s an increasing distance between us and the Lord, that isn’t so much because we chose lesser things, evil things. We probably did, but that isn’t the cause; that’s the result. The real cause is the fact the fear of the Lord wasn’t operating in our life. But if it wasn’t, we have to wonder then, why wasn’t it?
The fear of the Lord didn’t operate for this reason: men didn’t want it. We have to want it.
The book of Proverbs discusses this principle, saying, “Yes, if you cry for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord ...” (Proverbs 2:3-5a).
Once we recognize how extraordinarily valuable this fear of the Lord is, and seek it in the same sustained, persistent way one seeks money—this pursuit is going to reward us with what we’ve been seeking.
So how do we regard money—as no big deal? Don’t care if we have it, don’t care if we don’t?
No, many of us will go to school for years and years, so one day somebody will hire us. And after getting that position, we will then work very hard—day after day, and month after month—hoping that somehow, someday, someone else in leadership will promote us.
We do all this because we recognized a long time ago that money is important. So important, in fact, there is this sustained pursuit of financial gain.
Similarly, once it registers with us that the fear of the Lord is even more important, we’ll begin a serious and steadfast search to see how such fear can ascend to its rightful place in our life.
Identifying another benefit from fearing God, Psalm 34, verses 11 and 12, says: “Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?”
That describes us, doesn’t it? We don’t want to merely exist, we want to live! Moreover, we want to live a long life! And we, too, want our days to be good! But what is critical for a long and good life is the fear of the Lord having us in its grip.
Even Satan knows what most Christians don’t know, the extraordinary benefits that come from fearing God.
In Job 1:9 he asks, does Job fear God for nothing?
The implication being: Because the fear of the Lord has so many benefits, of course Job will continue to fear the Lord! At least this was Satan’s complaint that day when he accused Job before God.
Fear-of-the-Lord benefits stack the deck, he said. They give Job and God an unfair advantage! They secure Job’s allegiance without the trials necessary for proving authenticity.
To hear Satan lecture God about “fairness” and “justice” is, well, choice!
Nevertheless, this protest from lying lips does have some truth in it; for the benefits that come to those who fear the Lord are extremely motivating.
So with this thought intensifying our interest, let’s identify some of these fear-of-the-Lord benefits.
Psalm 34:9 immediately grabs our attention when it states, “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.”
No want? This means, once the fear of the Lord is operational in our lives, we’ll never come up short! We’ll never be left in need! We’ll never face life without adequate resources! Why? Because to those who fear him, God will become an ever-expanding supply!
Psalm 145:19 further peaks our interest when it declares, “He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him ….”
This is a reassuring promise, but be honest: Is this the way that it’s been working out for you? Many people will instinctively bury their desires in the graveyard of what they call “reality.” They’ll settle for less, and not even allow themselves to hope for more, thinking that that’s maturity—when in fact it is nothing but unbelief
Proverbs 19:23 says, “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction ….” Well, I guess so! If all our needs and desires are met, we certainly will be satisfied!
Here’s another benefit that should intrigue every believer today. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge ….”
Of course, one of the reasons the information highway is so appealing is because of the many advantages it affords to those who are on it—and not inconsequential advantages, either, but advantages that really pay off!
Before this knowledge can be ours, though, we must get beyond being merely inquisitive.
Psalm 25:12 asks, “Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach ….”
According to this verse, the prerequisite for being taught by the best teacher ever is this matter of first fearing him.
Verse 14 in this psalm goes on to say, “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him ....”
Now that makes sense when you think about it, because with whom do you share your secrets? With only those people you trust, right?
Well, the same is true about God. And did you realize there are some things that he could tell you, which, if you knew them, would immediately spring the lock to opportunities that for so long you couldn’t access?
You have been struggling, struggling, struggling! But even though your talents are considerable, and your commitment is admirable, you still haven’t been able to break through!
However, there is a revelation God could give that would make all the difference in the world! And once received and acted upon, the success that eluded you for so long will elude you no longer.
Though you easily recognize that you definitely need this revelation, what has jammed everything up is your tardiness to be taught of the Lord in the way he wanted to teach you.
So if the psalmist could speak to you personally today, he would probably get to the main point real fast by asking you: Do you want to know his secrets?
Assuming that you do, and that there’s no reason to wait for a reply, the answer is given: Then let the fear of the Lord become a reality in your life—a reality that will draw you to God and deter you from displeasing him.
Offering a promise most Christians are totally unmindful of, Proverbs 10:27 says, “The fear of the Lord prolongs days ….”
Many of us think that our days are numbered and therefore when our time is up, our time is up!
One man, holding to a hyper-predestination theology, told his preacher that he could stand in the middle of the L.A. freeway at four o’clock on a Friday afternoon and if it wasn’t his time to go, he would be perfectly safe.
In response, his preacher said, “Friend, if you stand in the middle of the L.A. freeway on Friday afternoon, it will be your time to go!”
In just this assemblage of verses we can easily see there’s so much good that comes to those who fear the Lord and so much harm that comes to those who don’t. To review what these verses are setting forth certainly makes it clearer why the presence or absence of the fear of the Lord in our lives is a major, destiny-determining issue.
G.D. Watson observed, “The fear of the Lord, providing it does not have any doubt or despair in it, is one of the most wholesome conditions of a creature’s soul.…”
While the best thing about being close to God is God Himself, the blessed life he gives adds immeasurably to our love for him.
