Posted on by Delbert Tritsch

Foundation for Divine Intimacy

Freedom is found in the fear of the Lord.  Though man’s philosophy vilifies fear as an enemy of the mind with immobilizing power, the fear of God is the only way to experience true liberty.  You will serve what you fear.  It is no wonder that Solomon said that we must “fear God, and keep his commandments” because fear is the prerequisite of obedience (Ecc. 12:13).  And the fear that fosters submission to God ultimately frees us of bondage to the flesh.

Having a true reverence for God, which is the fear of the Lord, is the key to enjoying intimacy with Him.  The fear of the Lord undergirds our faith in and love for Him, and it prepares us for a closeness to Him that is unknowable any other way.  If we do not fear Him, we will not know Him.

Without the fear of the Lord, we will be unable to have perfect faith in Him.  Hebrews 11:6 tells us that we cannot please God without faith, but the very next verse says, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house” (Heb. 11:6-7).  What Noah did was “by faith”, but he was “moved with fear.”  Fear was the fuel of his faith; it was his faith’s driving force.  Psalms 147:11 says that God is pleased with those who fear Him.  Reverence will not be born from faith because the “fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom”; rather, holy fear will move a person to God-pleasing faith (Psa. 111:10; Pro. 9:10; 15:33).

Without the fear of the Lord, we cannot wholly love Him.  Some would suggest that fear is antithetical to love citing 2 Timothy 1:7, but that verse means that God has not given us the spirit of timidity.  The same person may quote 1 John 4:18 saying that “perfect love casteth out fear”, but the kind of fear that verse references means “alarm or fright” (Strong G5401).  The fear of the Lord is not timidity, alarm, or fright; but it is a deep reverence for the God of the universe.  Deuteronomy 10:12 instructs Israel “to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”  Fear comes before love; and any love one has toward God apart from fear will be a partial, immature love at best.  Only the person who recognizes, as much as is possible, how truly great God is and understands the psalmist’s call to “stand in awe of him” can begin to know Him enough to possess and express a perfect love toward God (Psa. 33:8).

If we fear the Lord, He will draw us closer to Him than we can ever imagine.  One with a genuine reverence toward God will be drawn closer to Him when God reveals His glory.  But those who do not fear God will feel only alarm and fright at His glory because irreverence cannot remain in the manifest presence of God.  Psalms 25:14 says, “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.”  This verse means that closeness or intimacy with God is with those who fear Him and that God will show them truth.  Those who truly fear God will be brought by God to a place where He will share with them things that He will share only with a confidant.

Thank God we have the freedom to fear Him whereby we may enjoy the liberty to serve Him and not the world, sin, or flesh!  As our reverence of Him powers our faith and deepens our love for God, we will come to know an intimacy with Him that will be rivaled only in the life to come.

Bibliography
Bevere, John. The Fear of the Lord: Discover the Key to Intimately Knowing God. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2006.
Strong, James. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Abingdon Press, 1890. Print.

Posted on by Delbert Tritsch

Don’t Miss What God Is Doing

Something Is Always Wrong.

Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Proverbs 27:20

Most things are never quite right.  Even in a good situation, it could always be better.  Even the healthy aren’t perfect.  More money seems to create more expenses.  Some of the skinniest people will complain about being overweight.  You were displeased with your looks years ago; but old photos today make you long for those days.  Children will complain because they are forced to go to school, and adults just wish they could go back to the time when school was their worst problem.  We think we can’t live without some expensive toy; but when we finally get it, it loses its luster.  Something is always wrong.

We are all currently facing trouble of some kind; but in spite of adversity, we must walk after the Spirit.  When we fail to do so, we will see only the mountain in our way.  When our vision is carnal, our mind will be most open to the machinations and devices of the devil and his minions.  Focusing on hindrances can strip you of the verve necessary to move forward and be the overcomer God designed you to be.

No doubt, you’ve heard the cliché that the grass is always greener on the other side until you get to the other side.  I believe this saying rings true because we so often lose sight of the blessing in our current circumstance and the struggle others face.  And many of us would turn the green grass on the other side brown with the poison of our attitude.  The problem is not the grass, and your problem is not your situation.  It’s you.

Don’t Lose Your Vision.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Proverbs 29:18

Many may bloviate about vision while understanding very little of what Biblical vision really is.  Yes, it is good to have a plan.  Programs can excite progress.  When a leader casts a vision of what he intends to accomplish and where he will take his followers with the Lord’s help, the people are inspired to rally to the call.  But Biblical vision is not a budget, calendar, or building program.  Vision is not a sermon, nor is it something that one can simply transfer to another through an inspiring word.

The vision of Proverbs 29:18 is “a sight…a dream, revelation, or oracle” (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries; H2377).  Biblical vision is spiritual sight.  It is understanding given by God.  Precisely, Biblical vision is a word from God.  It does not require that one know everything the future holds.  Though it may be good business to have short-term and long-term goals, a solid business model is not evidence of vision.  Many people have what the world would call vision; but they are, in truth, spiritually blind and following their own way (Isaiah 53:6).  The carnal mind which is the enemy of God will kill your vision because it is not, nor can it be, subject to God (Romans 8:7).  But the spiritual mind—that mind that is sharpened by the Word of God, prayer, and fasting—will receive vision.  And your vision comes only from God Who speaks to us today through His written Word and His Holy Spirit.

When you only see the trouble in your life, you are at risk of becoming carnally minded.  Don’t allow the obstacles in your life to overwhelm your mind and thereby block your vision.  Open your spiritual eyes; otherwise, you may miss what God is doing.

Don’t Miss What God Is Doing.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isaiah 55:8-11

We are running a race.  It is not a sprint or even a marathon, but it is more like a cross-country race.  We are not competitors against one another in this race.  As it is an endurance race, one’s speed today is of very little importance.  The ground we covered yesterday was good, and we thank God for it because we’re stronger and wiser.  The road ahead is exciting, and we eagerly press forward as we anticipate crossing the finish line.  But the most critical part of this race is happening right now.  Your progress in this spiritual race has less to do with what happened yesterday and what’s coming tomorrow and more to do with what is right now.  Keep running because only the ones who endure will make it (Matthew 10:22).

It is easy for us to think that the struggles we face today are not God’s will.  With more reason than most of us have ever had to believe one’s woes are not His plan, Joseph recognized that God was in control of his life from beginning to ending.  He told his brothers that what they had meant for evil, unbeknownst to them, God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20).  We err when we think that it is God’s will that our lives be full of ease and without trouble.  We may not understand why certain things are happening in our lives, but may God help us to remember that He is working through it.

As you pray for an answer to your problem and as you pray for a way out of your situation, don’t forget to pray for understanding.  Though your circumstance seems evil, God may be working through it to accomplish good.  Though people rise against you in what appears to be an evil spirit, God may be working through them to accomplish good.  If we spend all of our time seeking escape from our trouble, we may miss what God is doing through it.

All that matters is God’s will.  You are not merely in a holding pattern designed to paralyze you until God pulls you out.  God is moving, now.  As you pray for God to move tomorrow, don’t miss His moving today.

This article by Delbert Tritsch was originally published in the October 2013 issue of the Apostolic Witness.