Putting feet to a Heart that Fears

I am so far behind in posting for my Heart of the Matter Study.  I mentioned I would do a post on making practical the idea of having a heart that fears the Lord.  So, even though I’m late, I still wanted to share with you what the Lord has been teaching me.

 I love the courage of the Hebrew midwives of Egypt in the book of Exodus.  Pharoah told them that if they deliver a baby boy, then they needed to kill him, but if it’s a girl, they can let her live.  Can you imagine?  What pressure they were under!  I’m sure they had some fear of Pharoah and the punishment he could deliver if they didn’t obey.  But, you see in Exodus 1:17,  that these midwives “feared God” and didn’t obey the King of Egypt.  It took a lot of courage, but since they had a heart that feared the Lord, their desire was to please the Lord, no matter the cost. 

 Just like checking to see if that policeman is in our rearview mirror, we need to remember the Lord is watching, and it should be Him we are wanting to please.  But, too often we have more of a fear of man, than of the Lord.  We fear man’s disapproval.  We fear man not accepting us.   We simply regard what others have to say above what God has to say.  We lack the courage that the Midwives had, to stand for the Lord.  So, what are some of these times we fear man more than God?

~When raising our children.  Every Mommy out there has been given plenty of advice concerning how to do things with her children.  We hear so many warnings from the world about raising our children to be socially accepted.  We’re supposed to train them to “fit in”.  We’re supposed to make sure and let them express themselves.  We want them to have the latest and greatest so they can have the approval of their friends.  What does God have to say?  I’m afraid we discount the importance of training our child for the Lord and we focus too much on what “man” has to say. I once heard Pastor Strange say that every parent needs to read the book of Deuteronomy.  There is so much instruction in there!  I want Deuteronomy 11:18 and 19 (Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up) and Deuteronomy 32:46 ( And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law) to be my theme for raising my children.

~When getting myself “ready” for the day.  Think about the Proverbs 31 woman for a moment.  We know all the amazing things she does, and of how she serves and loves her family and others.  But, what about how she looks?  There are only 3 verses that touch on her outward appearance, but I still have a mental appearance of what she looks like.  I don’t think she was unkept, frumpy, or flashy.  I truly believe she was a well put together woman.  She was well groomed and up to date.  She was a lady that honored the Lord, her husband, and her children with her appearance.   God does want us to keep ourselves looking beautiful and attractive.  Our husbands need it!  But, does your appearance really reflect what the Lord wants?   When we are immodest what is our goal?  Attention of others?  I can assure you, your husband does want you to be attractive in public, but I don’t believe he wants you to show things that are for his eyes only.  Keep yourself modest for your husband. One of the verses of the Proverbs 31 woman says that strength and honor are her clothing.  Clothed in honor is a beautiful thought and one I want to be said about me.

~In our daily schedule.  Of course we want to have a servant’s heart and be ready to help others in a moment’s notice, but there does come a time when you have to say no.  Even though we don’t want to believe it, we really aren’t “Superwoman”  We can’t do it all.  The world would have you to believe that you should be doing more than just being a wife, mommy, home-school teacher, etc.  If we are not careful, we can begin to fear man’s opinion.  Then we will begin to make more and more commitments and do more and more trying to find fulfillment and approval.  It’s not going to work.  I want to prioritize my day in a way that reflects a heart that “fears the Lord.”  He is watching and He is concerned with me and how I live.  It is He who wants me to put my husband and family first!

~In our talk of the Lord.  Do you ever lack boldness when telling others of Christ?  It’s easy to come up with excuses of why to wait until the next time, or to put off being a witness.  We can be worried we will stumble through our words, or they will come up with a question we can’t answer.  We’re worried we’ll offend someone.  The disciples in the book of Acts had so much boldness in telling others about the Lord.  They knew they were putting their lives in danger, yet they still witnessed .  Why?  Because they did not fear what man could do unto them…but they had a fear of the Lord!  Putting our excuses next to their boldness is a sad comparison.  I want to tell others of Christ with love and boldness.  A heart that fears does this!

~Lastly, do I fear the Lord when disciplining my children?  I must remember that He is present with me when I discipline my children and I want to please Him in all I do. Am I calm?  Am I patient?  Do I lose my temper?  Do I discipline in love? 

I want to rememberthat the fear of the Lord starts by recognizing that He is present with me all throughout my day!