The Fear and Knowledge of God
What would you do in order to find a hidden treasure? Suppose someone gave you a map with a general location of a treasure but told you that it was twenty feet deep. Would you put in the effort to dig for it? It would be hard, tedious, and long workout, but anything worth finding is worth working for to gain its benefits.
If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:4-5
To find silver or other precious metals is a difficult work. In order to find silver and gold, people have to be willing to endure the pain and labor required to find and extract the metal. Miners will get up early and work until they are exhausted. They will search through every vain that shows a glimpse of prospect. Yet, it seems that many times believers are not as interested in putting in the effort to search for the riches of Christ (Ephesians 3:8). To understand the fear of God requires spending time in God’s Word, praying in faith, and worshiping Him with all your heart. This does not happen in five minutes. It requires effort, time, and sincere effort to build a relationship with Christ.
Often people of the past would bury their treasure to protect their valued asset. If that person died and did not leave the location of the treasure, no one could find it. If someone found it in a field, they might try to buy the field to gain the treasure. Jesus said, ““Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field (Matthew 13:44). If you knew there was a hidden treasure in a relationship with Christ, you would seek it and find the fear and the knowledge of God .
What do you seek? What are you willing to dig for? If you seek Christ, it will require you to dig for truth in His Word, walk in the ways of His Spirit, and obey what He is teaching you. You will never find the treasures if you do not obey the last thing He taught you. As you uncover truth and respond in obedience, God will reveal more truth. The knowledge of God will become clearer as you dig deeper and deeper into your relationship with Christ.
When you discover how to walk with Christ, you will understand the reverence you should give to Him. This reverence for Christ brings you to deep worship of Him. The result of worship is a deep knowledge of God. These two work together. Reverence brings knowledge and knowledge of God brings deeper reverence for Christ. These two are hidden treasures that so many believers have not uncovered, discovered, and put into practice.
Self is more focused on sleep, rest, and relaxation. Seeking Christ focuses on discovering truth in God’s Word, prayer, and deep worship. If you give in to self, then you will not seek hidden treasure. If you seek Christ, you will discover the fear and knowledge of God. Who wouldn’t want to find these incredible riches?
© Copyright 2019, Think LifeChange Institute of Biblical Counseling, All Rights Reserved. Kerry L. Skinner and Alison Veazey