How to Fear God (Pt. 2)

In the previous post I shared how Proverbs 2:1-9 gives us eight steps on how to fear God.  We went through the first four steps.  Today we will continue with the last four steps.  As a refresher, here is Proverbs 2:1-9 (ESV)

My son, if you accept my words

And store up my commands within you,

Turning your heart to understanding –

Indeed, if you call out for insight

And cry aloud for understanding,

And if you look for it as for silver

And search for it as for hidden treasure,

Then you will understand the fear of the LORD

And find the knowledge of God.

For the LORD gives wisdom;

Form his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

He holds success in store for the upright,

He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

For he guards the course of the just

And protects the way of his faithful ones.

Then you will understand what is right and just

And fair – every good path.

Step 5

Is to call out for insight.  Insight is the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing.  Insight, as defined by Webster’s 1828 dictionary, is also the sight or view of the interior of anything; deep inspection or view; introspection; or knowledge or skill. 

So to call out for insight is to ask God for a deep understanding of who He is and for what is being read in the scriptures.  This is prayer.  We pray for the Holy Spirit to make the scripture clear to us so we can understand what God is revealing to us through the scripture. 

Step 6

To cry aloud for understanding has the same connotation as in Step 5.  However, the difference is the intensity of your prayer and/or study.  You are desperate to understand what you are reading and know that God is trying to tell you something but you don’t get it.  So you keep at it.  You keep praying, you keep reading and searching the scriptures while relying on the Holy Spirit to bring the revelation you need.

Step 7

You look for it (understanding) as for silver.  Again you keep reading and praying until you get the revelation from God and gain understanding from it.  This isn’t a read it once deal but a continual search of the scriptures because it is a treasure trove of wisdom.

Step 8

The final step in fearing God is to search for it as for hidden treasure.  This step correlates to Step 7.  You are searching the scriptures for understanding.  However, in this step, you are digging deeper into the word.   This could involve doing a word study of a particular word that is repeated in your reading, looking up the Greek/Hebrew meanings of words and how they were used in the passage, etc.  Whatever the method, you are doing a deep search into that scripture. 

We do these steps, not as a token gesture, but for a heart and mind change.  We cannot move forward into our purpose if our hearts and minds are stuck in the ways of the world.  Not only do we need to know God and have an understanding of His character as revealed in His word, but we also need to have our minds changed to mirror his ways of thinking and doing things. 

Essentially, to fear God is to know Him and His ways and to treasure those in our hearts by applying His word to our lives.  What happens when we don’t measure up or when we don’t apply the truths to our lives?  We find out where we went wrong, repent, and ask for forgiveness.  This is foundational and is important if we want to have an eternal impact in the world.  

If this post has helped you, please reply in the comments below.