Plan Two: The Fear of the Lord Is…Sample

THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS REST

According to the Sleep Foundation, “Adults between 18 and 64 need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Adults over 65 need seven to eight hours.” Yet over 35% of adults reported sleeping less than seven hours per night. God created us to rest. It brings emotional and physical health, creativity and confidence, improved relationships, and greater productivity.

Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Rest is a gift from Jesus, but to receive that gift, we must first come to Him, and proper fear of God helps us to do that.

How do we come to the Lord? The psalmist said, “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false (humility) and does not swear deceitfully.”

Clean hands, pure heart, and don’t swear deceitfully – as we discovered in Plan One’s Exodus 20:20 Insight, the fear of the Lord keeps us from sin and all of sin’s devastation. Moses told the people at the foot of Mt. Sinai, “Do not be afraid, God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

Humility: The fear of the Lord aligns our character and creates true humility, for that is the only possible remaining human response to a God whose…

• incredible majesty is displayed throughout all of creation,
• own breath gave us life,
• precious thoughts of us are as numerous as the sands of the sea,
• loving-kindness has forgiven our iniquity,
• mercy now extends beyond ourselves and to human generations yet to come,
• faithfulness was established in heaven and is more predictable than the celestial orbits that drive our atomic clocks,
• starry host was created by the breath of His mouth as he called them each by name.

When we fear God, we have an unshakable and steadfast conviction that God is great, and God is good. Therefore, we can boldly approach His throne of grace and receive rest for our souls.