Reverent fear of the Lord increases our awareness of the holiness of God and the sins that separate us from Him. Reverent fear leads to worship; confession of sin allows us to receive grace and draw nearer to God.
The prophet Isaiah experienced both of these, as written in Isaiah 6:1-5.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Isaiah’s response involved two key elements — reverent fear of the Lord and confession.
Isaiah stood in awe of the vision of the exalted, holy God. He had reverence and respect for the character of God.
Psalm 111:10 states the benefits of the fear of the Lord.
With reverent fear, Isaiah saw the greatness of God and felt unworthy before Him. With a humble heart, he acknowledged his position before God.
Confession opened the way for Isaiah to draw nearer to God.
God responded to Isaiah’s reverent fear and confession with forgiving grace.
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
In the end, Isaiah experienced grace and went forward serving the Lord.
We can do the same as Isaiah through having reverent fear of the Lord and confession of sin. The combination of the two will help us draw nearer to the Lord, improving our relationship with Him.
Will you take time to draw nearer to God through reverent fear and confession?
The Lord is waiting.
