“He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.”
Psalm 145:19 KJV
For those who love and fear the Lord, He is always nearby, and He will fulfill their desire. Verse 20 tells us what desire He will fulfill. “The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.”
Everyone desires protection, and God promises to preserve the righteous. In other words, He will take care of those who love and fear Him.
Matthew 6:31 & 33 say, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?…But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
If we strive to please the Lord in all we do – to love, honor, and obey Him; to live righteously; to put Him first in every area of our lives – He’ll automatically fulfill our natural desire to have our physical needs met. And with confidence we can cast all our cares upon Him because He will take care of them. (I Peter 5:7)
So what exactly does it mean to fear the Lord? Does God expect us to cower in His holy presence? Does He delight in terrorizing us like an abusive parent beats a child into submission? No!
II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
We serve a God of love and mercy who has given us a sound mind to make godly decisions and His power to see them through. So fearing God is not an emotion; it’s an action.
According to Scripture, here’s the definition of fearing the Lord: “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13) The colon after evil means that the Bible is now defining evil. Evil is defined as pride, arrogance, the evil way (anything ungodly), and a perverse mouth.
Wow! That means the fear of the Lord and humility go hand-in-hand.
II Chronicles 19:7 says, “Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.”
We serve a holy God who detests sin in any form. He plays no favorites and He takes no bribes. If we fear the Lord, we’ll also hate sin. All sin! Even our own. And that hatred for sin will cause us to repent.
Proverbs 3:7 says, “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” If you do, He promises to hear your cry for help and save you from destruction.