The Secrets of Providence.
One of the first moments I experienced the Holy Spirit working in me was during a high school Sunday school class. The class was asked, "What is the point of 'fearing the Lord?'" I answered with a statement that awed and stunned the room with it's power. Yet, minutes after I spoke I couldn't remember what I had said.
With my lack of verbal eloquence, I pray often for more moments like these.
Where God leads.
Since that day, I've been provoked to know that fear I spoke about.
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. Ps. 25:14
It's a funny thought: That fear is encouraged.
Aren't we supposed to "fear nothing but fear itself?"
If only looking at worldly things, I'd answer yes.
But, what I've come to realize is that the fear of God is a whole new category of fear.
It's incomparable to the fear of death, heights, or rejection.
Fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. Prov 1:7
Just as a person with acrophobia would be on their first sky dive: Terrified.
Yet with time, the fear takes shape into something more intimate and enthralling.
Job 23:13-16 says, "But he stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases. He carries out his decree against me, and many such plans he still has in store. That is why I am terrified before him; when I think of all this, I fear him. God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me."
Fear is linked to the sovereignty of God.
He is all-powerful, all-controlling, and all-knowing. That is definitely something to be feared.
But again, this is the beginning.
There are secrets to be learned by God's children.
His dealings with His children will often seem, to the outside eye, to be dark, terrible, tragic.
This is God's secret. While the Lost can only look on the outside, the Saved can look deeper and see the hidden meaning.
Diamonds are found within the depth of stones.
Pearls within the slim of clams.
The old testament's Tabernacle of gold within animal skin.
Hope within valleys.
God will send you, my sweet friends and family, some valuable packages.
But do not worry that they are done up with filthy, rough wrappings.
God only sends the best to you.
Be confident that within your package there are treasures of wisdom, kindness, and love.
"If we take what He sends, and trust Him for the goodness in it, even in the dark, we shall learn the meaning of the secrets of Providence." --A. B. Simpson
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and they who live by it grow in understanding. Ps 111:10
He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death. Prov 14:26-27
Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever." Ps 118:4
We have a God of terrifying love, my friends. In a good way.
We should not fear that God will let us down, or that He is not faithful, or just, or forgiving. In fact, His intense determination to make us holy (so that we can be with Him forever) is there to create in us the right kind of godly fear: that He will not quit sanctifying us when, in our opinion, we are good enough. God is the ultimate perfectionist, and He will get what He wants. And if what we wants is us...well, it is fearful to realize just how far He'll go.
He is the potter, and He intends vessels of holiness. No, we need not fear that God will fail us or give up on us, but rather that He is indeed faithful to finish what He has started.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God....
Heb 10:31
For myself and for each of you, I pray that the fear of the Lord is established as the beginning of the journey with Him and the person you're created to be, because I am "confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil 1:3-6
* Photos are part of the black and white roll I developed a while back. They were shot during the Christmas snowfall of last year in Franklin, NC. *
* Photos are part of the black and white roll I developed a while back. They were shot during the Christmas snowfall of last year in Franklin, NC. *
