The Fear of the Lord

I love Proverbs. It's my favorite book of the Bible.  Maybe its because I feel so void of wisdom and these writings contain ancient wisdom directly requested by Solomon from God.  These nuggets reach out to me as I choose my pathway each day.  I find my path taking strange twists and turns and often I find myself scared and feeling alone. 

Today I read Proverbs 1:7 which says: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."   I realize my definition of fear isn't this kind of wisdom. Fear seems like a negative word. I am afraid of being afraid!  I need to understand "the fear of the Lord". It is the beginning of all I hope to learn about wisdom.

My desire and goal is that God and I be a team. We stick together all day; all the time.  My greatest fear is being alone in darkness and losing my way. I realize I am easily drawn aside into dark rooms or pulled into unlit paths. I really fear being forsaken or deserted. 

So how do I become comfortable with embracing "godly fear"?  As I approach Him with this question, I realize it is as simple as this: don't go anywhere without Him!

There are so many paths and doors in my life. So many rooms. I have to visit or follow all of them at one time or another.  Sometimes I drop God off somewhere along the way and begin a journey alone. 

One of those paths is when I visit my emotions and try to deal with them alone.  What a journey! I sometimes travel for hours or days before I realize I am alone and either God dropped off back there somewhere or I outran Him! Then I have to think of all the time I lost in what could have been sweet communion with my traveling companion and beautiful scenery along the way!

So I am reminded again (as I have been reminded before) that I don't wander off on paths without my Protector! I am learning to fear walking anywhere without Him!