In my personal reading this morning, I was reading from Proverbs 31 where I ran across this verse that says, "The woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

I began to ask myself the question, "What does it really mean to fear the Lord?" This word "fear" here is a word that means to have a reverent and respectful fear. It’s not the kind of fear that would keep someone from feeling like they couldn’t approach God lest he would strike them down, but kind of like the fear a child should have toward his or her parents.

Children should respect their parents in a way where they know that they love them and would even give their lives for them, but also that they would hold them accountable if they would choose to disobey. If we, as Christians, decide to disobey the Lord, it doesn’t mean that he will stop loving us. But it does mean that there will be consequences for our actions, and sometimes these may be severe.

Sometimes, I hear Christians talk about God as if he is a genie that they can call on in just in times of convenience. If they have a pain or sickness, it becomes time to call him out of his bottle. If they get into trouble, then there is a need to awaken him to come to their rescue. If there is a material want, then he is needed.

The truth is that the Lord does want to help us in times of need, but everything is according to his terms and conditions.

We must remember that he is God and we are not. He knows what is best for us when we think only we know what is best. There are times when God wants to do all of the talking, and we just need to listen.

Fearing the Lord is not about us as much as being all about him and what he wants out of our lives. If we want to know more about God and his will for our lives, then we must spend more time in his word. We must listen to his voice as he speaks to us and be willing to obey him no matter where he leads us.