Confidence

“The fear of the Lord is strong confidence; and his children shall have a place of refuge.”  Proverbs 14:26 

Confidence – How can anything that you are afraid of make you confident? Unless you know what “fear of the Lord” means, this phrase seems to be completely backwards.  Of course, once you realize that “fear of the Lord” means “respect, devotion and reverence”, then the rest begins to make sense.  I can be confident if I know who God is and who I am because I recognize that God is in control, not me.

But the Hebrew root word, mivtach, tells us a little more.  It is a word that describes what is solid and firm.  It tells me that I can have complete trust in the stability of God.  He is not going to leave me hanging when I don’t know what’s happening.

What’s even more interesting about this word is that when it was translated into Greek in ancient times, it was never translated as the word “faith”.  It was always translated by the word “hope”.  This implies that the substance of my confidence is not about what I believe right now but rather about whom I rely on for the future.  There is an old hymn that captures the thought:  “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”.  Confidence looks toward the future.  It asks the question, “What can you really count on?”  And the answer is, “The only reliable foundation for the future is the reverence and respect of God.”

“Of course”, you will say.  “I knew that.”  But it isn’t your knowing that matters.  You see, “the fear of the Lord” is not about what you know.  It’s about how you behave.  And if you face an uncertain future (which is exactly what the future always is) with anxiety, worry and unease, then you have not understood the behavior that is associated with the “fear of the Lord”.  Worship means putting your life in His hands – completely.  Don’t go to church and sing the hymns, then walk out the door thinking, “That was nice but now I have to get back to taking care of myself.”  That’s not “fear of the Lord” confidence.  That’s self-reliance. 

By the way, it took me thirty-five years to understand this little bit of information.  But you’re probably a faster learner than I am.