I felt it was important to step back in our discussion of wisdom to investigate further the “fear of the Lord” which is both the “beginning of knowledge” and the “beginning of wisdom.”

Clearly, the Lord wants us to know wisdom. In Prov. 1:20, he says, “Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares…” and so forth. She is calling out to us… again and again. It is we, who are not listening, who are not discerning her call.

We are all at a tension point… with wisdom before us… calling out and behind, the enticements of the world. If we do not “consciously” choose wisdom, we are rejecting her by default and slip backwards into the world.

Even the secular world is interested in wisdom. An interesting definition appears here on a website about systems thinking. Here it says that information answers the questions of who, what, when & where, while knowledge is the application of information and answers the question, “how?” Understanding is the appreciation of “why?” but wisdom is “evaluated understanding.” Isn’t God calling us to “evaluative understanding?” But before you can move into this type of wisdom, you must pass through the other levels: you must GET information, knowledge, and understanding.

And apparently, the first place to “get” them, is in the Fear of the Lord. Let us remember that the Hebrew for Fear in this passage (transliterated) is “yirah” – piety or holy fear… or reverence. Other words that have been used in translating this verse (for understanding) are respect, devotion, awe, and honor.

Here is my question for you… What does “fear of the Lord” or “reverence for the Lord” look like for you? How do you know YOU are experiencing reverence? What does it feel like… smell like… sound like… look like?

For the rest of our session, we created poster images of what reverence might look like and then shared our posters. Although I cannot share them here… I have chosen a few graphic elements to give you a feeling for what was shared that night.

One person shared that she feels like a speck surrounded by a universe of God’s love.

Another person felt that her devotion was wrapped up in feelings of safety and warmth. She drew a picture of herself on a swing with Lord holding the ends.

Although this picture does not capture fully, another person drew a picture of a heart filled on one-half with tears… but tears that changed colors from her early years of what she thought “fearing God” was to what she understands it to be now… full of colors. Her reverence for God has always been inside her heart.



Another sister shared her poster and safety was one aspect of her reverence of God.. along with a river of life, the devotion that a pet shows for her master, and many more images that reflect her expectation that God will take care of her.

One sister shared her reverence of God in nature and symbolized it with an image of mountains… with a song in her heart, “Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name…”

Two of the women captured their reverence with the light of God shining down on them, filling almost the entire page with the rays of his Light.

We ended the evening with several scriptures:
Luke 1:50
2 Corinthians 7:1
Philipians 2:12
Ephesians 5:21
I Peter 2:17
I Peter 1:17
Exodus 20:20
Psalm 31:19

God created wisdom when the earth was made and only God can teach us the way to wisdom.

Prayer requests: for K’s workshop for Leading Kids to Jesus; for Irm’s daughter’s school issues; and for the visiting African girls from the Children of Zion Village.

Next meeting: Thursday, April 5th… continuing in Proverbs. Please email me if you need directions…
Note: Need a decision about meeting on May 3rd as I will be out of town.

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