God’s truths are like diamonds and they have many facets to them. If you want to understand His truths then you want to know and understand as many aspects of that truth that you can. If you look at a truth from only one perspective then you will not see the “whole” truth but only one aspect of that truth. This narrow perspective can cause confusion and misunderstanding. Sometimes we can’t explain or verbalize truths but we can often recognize truths. For this reason, when we hear a truth or see a truth, then we will say to ourselves, “that is so true”. Wisdom is the instruction of truth. Wisdom is the action that we need to take to experience the blessing of the truth.
My son, eat honey, for it is good,
Yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a future,
And your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 24:13,14
The soul is made up of the mind, will and emotions. The soul is the heart of a person. Your heart will be happy when you find wisdom. Yes, wisdom will be sweet to your soul. If you find wisdom, and wisdom must be found for a person is not born with wisdom, then you will have a future. Not only will you have a future and it means a good future but you will also have hope. Hope is the sweet music to your soul.
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But live in the fear of the Lord always.
Surely there is a future,
And your hope will not be cut off. Proverbs 23:17,18
The prerequisite for wisdom is to “fear the Lord”. To fear the Lord means that you must have the highest respect and honor for the Lord and for what He says. It needs to be such a respect that you do what He says because He is God. You don’t need to understand what He says but you need to do what He says if you want to fear Him. Man will never fully understand God because we are His creation and He is our Creator. There is an amazing paradox that happens to the person who fears God and that is that this person receives wisdom and understanding. God’s design is that we obey first and then He gives us understanding. Man’s order is that he wants to understand first and then obey. Man’s order results in not obeying and not understanding.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
What does it mean to fear the Lord? It is not merely to have a reverential awe of God and to obey the Lord. It also means that you hate the things that He hates.
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. Proverbs 8:13
How does one learn to fear the Lord? It is not something that we can dig up but it is like faith. The fear of the Lord (just like faith) comes from the Word of God.
Establish Your word to Your servant,
As that which produces reverence for You. Psalm 119:38
God’s Word is what produces within us a fear of God, or in other words, a reverence for Him. We learn to revere the Lord and fear and obey Him by getting into His Word. The more we read, study, meditate and obey God’s Word then the more we will fear Him. The more we fear Him then the more wisdom and understanding of Him that we will have. The fear of the Lord drives out confusion and doubt and replaces it with peace and understanding.
Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1:29
Wisdom comes with the fear of the Lord but the fear of the Lord must be chosen. We must choose to fear the Lord.
The fear of the Lord leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. Proverbs 19:23
There are other benefits to learning to fear the Lord and one of these is that the fear of the Lord leads to life so that you may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. The fear of the Lord not only leads to life but the fear of the Lord replaces and diminishes all of the unhealthy fears that a person has in their life. These unhealthy and destructive fears often show up at night and robs a person of sleep that should be sweet and refreshing and nourishing to the body.
The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, Proverbs 14:27a
Not only is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom and will give you a future and a hope but you will learn that as you fear the Lord you will not need to fear anyone or anything else.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them. Psalm 34:7
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness, Psalm 33:18
Instructions To A Young Life 