Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools

despise wisdom and discipline.

What a confusing world we live in.

I can't tell you how much I've been desiring wisdom lately. The more I seek wisdom, the more I find truth. The more I find truth, the more I seek wisdom. Its a never-ending cycle. Its becoming an addiction....a good addiction though.

We make so many decisions each day. Many of those decisions are made without even giving them thought. These include the small decisions in life that don't appear to affect our happiness or the happiness of others. I am absolutely certain that almost all of the decisions that I make each day are either wrong, or are not the best decisions that I could have possibly made. In fact as I gain more and more wisdom I am becoming more and more aware of the depravity of man and any idea of a self-righteousness is absolutely ludicrous. I used to feel somewhat righteous and through humility this understanding of the depravity of man has been revealed to me. No one is righteous. Not even close.

With this thought in mind, I am overwhelmed with a deep feeling of sorrow for the world. Sin is a very serious problem and as I begin to see how holy God is and how unrighteous man is, it absolutely consumes my thoughts with the sufferings of others. Not just the physical suffering, but the fact that they have no comfort as they go through it. If anyone thinks that they can bring happiness to themselves or others by simply providing them with some sort of earthly benefit then they are absolutely mistaken. If you think its just enough to feed the poor, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless, you do better than most people, but you are missing it completely. I see so many people who have their earthly needs met but are never fulfilled with their life. They can't be. Earthly wisdom can't accomplish that and since that is true, there is such a great sorrow that exists in their hearts. Hopelessness.

John 6:35

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

At the same time that I feel this great sorrow for the world, I also begin to see more and more the magnitude of God's grace. What amazing love that a perfectly holy God could consider righteous any man, no matter the depth of his or her unrighteousness by simply putting their trust in Him.

By discovering Godly wisdom, I am also beginning to understand the consequences of sin. There used to be sin that didn't appear to be bad but as I attain wisdom, I am beginning to understand the consequences of that sin in my life or other people's lives. On the flip-side, as I attain more wisdom, I am beginning to understand the goodness of righteousness and the excellent benefit and happiness that comes from it. Therefore sin becomes increasingly more something that I hate and righteousness become increasingly easier to pursue because I love it more.

As I discover Godly wisdom, I see that there exists a violent struggle of faith in the seen against faith in the unseen. By seeing the benefits of placing my faith in the unseen, and the costs of one placing their faith in the seen, I discover that faith in the unseen brings a great joy, and faith in the seen brings hopelessness and tremendous sorrow. The difference in the two shows me that the unseen gives true wisdom and the seen gives a false wisdom. By discovering this phenomenon, it builds my faith more in the unseen and my faith in the seen erodes.

If one is to find true happiness, they must first understand what is good and what is evil. How can someone find on their own what is good and what is evil? It is impossible. One person's view of what is good differs from another's. So what may be a problem to one person might not be a problem to another. Everyone wants to live in Paradise but nobody can agree on what Paradise would look like. Those who put their trust in Christ can discover what is good and what is evil. Then they can better understand the will of God and how their actions can work in accordance to His will. This blessed clarity of purpose gives me the strength to accomplish works for God's glory, the assurance to know that what I have done was the correct course of action, and the perseverance to fight through anything the world throws at me because I know I do right.

Recently I have been thinking of happiness being like a glass of water. I used to think that my glass was about half full and I could reach perfect happiness by meeting all of my earthly needs. That appeared to be the key to filling my glass to the brim. However, I see that I have no idea of the potential for happiness in myself and in others. The glass that I have pictured in my mind is too small. There is more than what we think. Much, much more. This can be attained through fearing the Lord and desiring wisdom. As you gain wisdom, your cup will begin to overflow.

Psalm 23:5

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows

.