Paths

Ever wonder why God talks about paths so often. It seems everywhere I turn He is talking about one's path. In Proverbs 14 He says "Those who follow the right path fear the Lord". Hmm, fear the Lord? that's always been a bit confusing to me. So today, I'll look it up. One definition is "a feeling of anticipation or anxiety caused by the presence or imminense of danger". Surely, that cannot be what God is referring to. Why would we take a path that causes us to feel the imminense of danger? I think God wants us to unpack this on our own. Everyone's reaction to fear is different but at it's core, how do we react when we are afraid of something. Our sense become more acute, we listen more intently, we look around noticing everything that surrounds us, we take it all in trying to determine our next step. Maybe God is saying that when are His we are to stop, take it all in and plan our next step for "fear" that we may take a wrong step. God wants us to keep our eyes on Him, looking to Him for our next steps yet being aware of our surroundings so as to never cause another to stumble and fall. Perhaps God is telling us that when we are the right path we will be more concerned with Him than ourselves. fear often gives a sort of "out of body" experience where we go beyond our self. Maybe, God is telling us that when we fear Him we will move beyond ourself and we will be consumed with Him. I've always thought of this word in the Bible as more representative of reverence however in doing the word search this morning I can't really find that as a translation. the funny thing is not matter how I search it, I can't even find a Greek word for fear. That makes me think either the translation has been obscured in some way or that God truly wants us to unpack this for ourselves. Since the Bible is God's unblemished word and since He allowed the translation over the years, I have to believe and have faith that this word "fear" is not a mistake and that God allowed it's use. Therefore, we know that God doesn't want us shaking in our shoes, and He doesn't expect us to take a path that leads to Freddie Kruger, so the fear of God, must be something way cooler. It must be something that brings us closer to Him.
I think I'm going to think on this for another day or so and come back to it. I love how God's Word challenges me and brings me to new heights.
But, for today, I will choose the path that causes me to fear my Lord!
Under His grace and presence,
Jenni