Fear the Lord

One of my Girls (by marriage) is an avid professional baker. She is locally known for her decorative cupcakes, sourdough breads, cakes and cookies. One thing that makes her items so popular is the quality of their ingredients! "The [reverent] fear of the LORD is the beginning (the prerequisite, the absolute essential, the alphabet) of wisdom; a good understanding and a teachable heart are possessed by all those who do the will of the LORD; His praise endures forever." (Psalm 111:10 AMP). Like the foundational ingredient in a recipe, the "fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." I suspect when asked "do you fear the LORD?" the quick response for most of us would be "yes, of course." Good answer, but how well is our answer reflected in our obedience to The Lord's commands? The fear of the Lord describes an obedient response, a heart humbled before Him with awe and wonder! I fear too often my own "fear of the Lord" is absent of awe and wonder of the Most High God. I'm reminded of making peanut butter cookies years ago and carelessly left out the sugar; of course, they were terrible! The psalmist says God's praise endures forever ... that's because He is to be feared - held in awe mingled with admiration inspired by the wonder of who He is. The more we do His will (obey Him), the more we learn and understand how awesome and wonderful He is. Like the delicacies of my Girl's kitchen, key ingredients are essential, they matter most ... fear the Lord!