GODLY FEAR LEADS TO WHOLESOME LIFE

Psalm 112

Sunday, 24 August 2025

 …  Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,

Who delights greatly in His commandments. -Psalm 112:1

This Psalm of blessing reveals the unspoken desire in the heart of all human beings—the wholesomeness in every aspect of life. Who wouldn’t want such a life? But one often fails to see past the blessing—the secret behind such a fulfilling life. 

The psalmist so beautifully begins with the secret of the blessings right in Vs.1: FEAR GOD & DELIGHT IN HIS WORD! How could one miss the BLESSOR and jump to the Blessing? 

Let’s look into the statement. Does the fear of God mean that you, in great scare, are trying to obey Him because you don’t want to offend Him? Absolutely Not! Rather it is a deep love that we have for God that makes us stand before Him in reverential awe because of His greatness and goodness. 

So how can one identify such a person? One of the truths that such a person follows is in Proverbs 8:13 “ to fear God is to hate evil: evil is explained in the same verse – pride, arrogance evil behavior and perverse speech. If one lives with pride and arrogance, evil behaviour and perverse speech will be his/her lifestyle. Lucifer the fallen angel thought in his heart that he was a good as God, instead of standing in awe of Him. Pride led to his downfall (cf. Isiah 14:12-15; Ezek.28:12-19). What about you? How do you see yourself? Are you taking pride in your looks, abilities, status? You could be a church-goer but God maybe dethroned in your heart while you’ve enthroned yourself there. Beware! Your fall is imminent.  Repent! Fear God who has the authority to punish you. (Matt 10:28)

Let’s test our lives as we walk through 2 examples from the Bible to understand where we stand in our reverential fear of God. 

While the irreverent and haughty lives incurred the wrath of God, the Bible equally records great lives who out of their deep love and fear of God have set before us exemplary lives. 

In the book of Genesis we are introduced to a very handsome young man who lived far away from home with none to counsel or instruct him. But this did not cause him to slip in the face of temptation. When faced with the worst trial of his life his response was: “How can I sin against God?” (Gen 39:9) Can you see the deep intimacy in this statement? God was not someone far away; He was someone he loved so deeply that he did not want to do anything that would bring Him shame. This is what a son would do when he deeply respects his dad. Joseph’s deep love for God was reflected in his godly fear that stopped him from falling into sin. This one decision in Joseph’s life later led to great blessings not only for him but also for his entire family. How about you? Do you ask yourself the same question that Joseph asked? Your answer will define your stand.

The next example we can learn from the two midwives Shiphrah and Puah in the book of Exodus. When asked to kill Hebrew babies they chose not to. It is recorded in Exodus 1:17 that they “feared God”- meaning they knew the life giver and decided to obey Him rather than an earthly ruler. Their godly fear led them to be instruments that God could use in saving lives and God rewarded them for their obedience in 2 ways: 1. Their names are recorded in the Bible 2. God gave them families of their own. What a rewarder our God is to those who fear and obey Him!

God is still looking for such people. Would we be like them in our generation? For the Lord longs to bless those who fear and obey Him. He is true to His Word.

Quote: “Fear of the Lord is rare and found in those who really love Him.” ~Anon

Listen: 'We choose the fear of the Lord'