Note before sharing the devotional: a couple years ago, after a few months of faithfully doing the devotionals on my Bible app, YouVersion, I did begin to wonder if there ever would come a day where they would start to recycle old devotionals. That day has come, and in the case of this particular one, much quicker than I expected. This is still a good devotional, and I'm still going to post it on my blog. As I found out with another devotional that had gotten recycled, but one that I didn't catch until after the second post ran, that there is yet one prominent change between the first and second iterations: my commentary.
Back in my therapy years, I remember one of the leaders saying in a group meeting one time that, when we go over some of the same impactful and painful parts of our own life stories, it feels differently each time, and it impacts us (and the others listening to us) each time. Between the points expressed in the previous paragraph and this one, I'm not going to throw away this devotional just because it had already run on this blog before.
We all need a starting place. For anyone that gets caught up in the things of this life (of which I certainly have done many times!), being reminded of our starting point -- the Lord -- is a good and wonderful thing.
Back in my therapy years, I remember one of the leaders saying in a group meeting one time that, when we go over some of the same impactful and painful parts of our own life stories, it feels differently each time, and it impacts us (and the others listening to us) each time. Between the points expressed in the previous paragraph and this one, I'm not going to throw away this devotional just because it had already run on this blog before.
We all need a starting place. For anyone that gets caught up in the things of this life (of which I certainly have done many times!), being reminded of our starting point -- the Lord -- is a good and wonderful thing.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Place to Start
There are so many places that we can go to learn about something new and grow in knowledge. Books are full of free access to learn anything you can dream up. The internet is also overloaded with content and ways to learn about any subject imaginable.
While those are great places to start when building knowledge, Scripture tells us that the beginning of all knowledge is fear of God. This means that while we can learn things from anyone, the beginning of true knowledge begins with God.
The fear of the Lord doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be afraid of God. What it means is that we should live our lives in awe of Him. We do this first by recognizing who He is. He is the creator and source of all things. He is all-powerful and all-knowledgeable. God’s Word says He holds the power of life and death in His hands. These are certainly attributes that should cause us to be in awe of God.
Scripture also tells us that God is loving, gracious, and merciful. Even though we, His own creation, previously abandoned Him and rebelled against Him, God graciously gave us access back to Himself through His Son, Jesus. The God who created the universe loves each and every one of us.
Knowing God rightly and being in awe of who He is and what He has done is the beginning of all knowledge.
We would be foolish to turn away from such a powerful and gracious God. While we can learn a lot about many different things through a book or the internet, the most essential and important piece of knowledge about God Himself comes from His Word.
Spend some time with God in prayer, thanking Him for who He is and what He has done for you. Begin a habit of reading Scripture regularly so that you can come to know Him more and more.
There are so many places that we can go to learn about something new and grow in knowledge. Books are full of free access to learn anything you can dream up. The internet is also overloaded with content and ways to learn about any subject imaginable.
While those are great places to start when building knowledge, Scripture tells us that the beginning of all knowledge is fear of God. This means that while we can learn things from anyone, the beginning of true knowledge begins with God.
The fear of the Lord doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be afraid of God. What it means is that we should live our lives in awe of Him. We do this first by recognizing who He is. He is the creator and source of all things. He is all-powerful and all-knowledgeable. God’s Word says He holds the power of life and death in His hands. These are certainly attributes that should cause us to be in awe of God.
Scripture also tells us that God is loving, gracious, and merciful. Even though we, His own creation, previously abandoned Him and rebelled against Him, God graciously gave us access back to Himself through His Son, Jesus. The God who created the universe loves each and every one of us.
Knowing God rightly and being in awe of who He is and what He has done is the beginning of all knowledge.
We would be foolish to turn away from such a powerful and gracious God. While we can learn a lot about many different things through a book or the internet, the most essential and important piece of knowledge about God Himself comes from His Word.
Spend some time with God in prayer, thanking Him for who He is and what He has done for you. Begin a habit of reading Scripture regularly so that you can come to know Him more and more.
Note after sharing the devotional: Another way to look at starting points is that every true believer in Jesus Christ as their Lord, King, and Savior does have a task to set out to accomplish while on earth: share the Gospel of Jesus with others. I say this as I've wrestled with what my purpose is on earth, and when I have asked the Lord about it, each time I've been told: the Great Commission. The above prompts really get to the meat of the matter today: Don't be afraid to ask someone: "Would you like to invite Jesus into your life?" It's a bold step, but one that could lead someone to eternal life. Trust that God is already preparing their heart for this moment.
I remember around fourteen-to-fifteen years ago when I (and those I had met and gotten to know from the church I had just joined) was at the peak of attempting street ministry. This kind of thing freaked me out as an introvert, but more importantly as someone who still had had a crippling fear of rejection. But there were occasions where I did try, and was rejected. The encouragement I had received from others around me at that time was that it's ok, this type of thing happens. It's not personal. The point is, you were obedient to the Lord and that is what matters.
I did also have moments where, with people that I knew were already saved, I prayed for healing specific to their need, and they experienced and received healing, or, I was listening to the Lord for them (I would look back now and call it "prophecy training"), and would speak what I thought I was seeing or hearing, and ask the recipient if that made any sense at all. Sometimes it did, and sometimes it didn't. Over time, and especially as I tapped into my own artistic gifts (music, writing, drawing, etc) I've been able to find new ways for hearing from the Lord (and not only so, but actually beginning to understand it!), to the point that I now generally no longer need to rely on other people to hear from the Lord for me (something that took me a long time to get past).
But now the task is to do all this for others. I have done this somewhat with music, and perhaps to a small degree with my blog-writing, especially for certain individuals on my mind and heart. Yes, I need to connect with the Lord daily and spend time with Him to be of any use to Him for His assignments, but I also need to find ways to get out and do that for others. God will make a way where there seems to be no way. In Jesus's name, Amen.
Prayer: God, thank You for being the source of all wisdom and knowledge. Please teach me more about You each day so I can know and understand You better. Guide my actions and decision making so that I can live a life that honors You. In Jesus's name, Amen.