In the fear of the LORD
there is strong confidence,
And His children
will have a place of refuge.
(Proverbs 14:26)
LORD Jesus, we praise You, for You are our Deliverer. Nothing is impossible with You. Forgive us, O God, we pray, whenever we choose to fear man and life’s circumstances instead of having the fear of the LORD. Help us to have confidence in You alone. Let us dwell in the secret place, abide under the shadow of the Almighty, and find a place of refuge with You. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. Amen.
Self gets a lot of attention in this world, does it not? It is good for a person to have self-confidence, so they say, to have a positive view of self and to show self-reliance.
While applying for a mortgage, my husband and I were quite sure that we would get a good deal. I mean, we do not have any debt at all—no car or any other loan to pay off, no credit cards that have been maxed out, no debt at all. Fact is that we do not owe any money, but we have a good amount of savings in the bank. The mortgages, however, did not work out.
We decided to keep on renting houses instead, and were looking into another place that we could call home. We had very good references, surely they would open the door/s for us to be accepted as tenants, would they not?
We were confident that our circumstances and the people involved would make things possible. We have been proven wrong!
Being confident was not the problem, but self was. Self likes to work things out, prefers to be in control, and it does not like to depend upon God. Self puts confidence in people and material things and fiddles around to have the outcome that self wants to have. What if the LORD has quite different plans?
Ouch!
Where should we seek confidence?
Today’s verse tells us where we can find strong confidence. God’s Word counsels us that it is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man or in princes (Psalm 118:8-9). Please note, that this is not a mere suggestion, but more of a warning. Proverbs 29:25 sheds more light on what will happen if we fear man instead of trusting in the LORD.
The Fear of the LORD
In other words, today’s verse tells us that it is “in the fear of the LORD” where we will find strong confidence. That will be the topic for the next blog post, so please stay tuned.
Put your confidence in the LORD today.