28 And he said to man,
‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.’ “
God is all knowing. He lives in us. He becomes to us a living resource of wisdom and understanding. I am convinced He wants to reveal His thoughts to us more than we desire them. His heart is for us to know Him. Knowing Him is the beginning of wisdom. For Job to say that the fear of the Lord – that is wisdom and to shun evil is understanding, is powerful. The context is he is living around and with people who just don’t get it. They are not connected in a relationship with the Living God. Job obviously knows God. God and the enemy were in a dialogue and God is the one that asks the enemy if he has considered God’s servant Job. They were not casual in their relationship.
He lives IN us and therefore His character runs through our spiritual veins. He communicates with me today. In fearing Him I learn to trust what He says and to follow His guidance even though my human GPS system screams other directions. I am trusting IN His directions. Following His wisdom affords me the chance to understand His purpose and ways for my life. I trust in His love and direction for me and thus I go His direction. This could be construed to be “shunning evil” – not going some other way. I am assuming that shows that I understand the directions of God.
To know God is to willingly and lovingly follow His direction for my life. I am not forced to do so. Grace provides the possibility. I have to appropriate His grace in my life and live in that power. I am not forced…it is not just a good thing to do…it is the desire of my heart…
