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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10a)

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When Saul realized that the\xa0Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days. (1 Samuel 18:28-29)

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Our theme is growing to maturity in Christ, and I have begun to believe that the book of 1 Samuel is one of the best illustrations of what this growth to maturity means.\xa0 Today we\u2019re looking at the role of fear.

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Saul was a man given to many fears, but the fear of the Lord was not one of them.\xa0 Saul did not cultivate a living relationship with the living God.\xa0 He was not willing to grow up to a mature trust and fear of the Lord.\xa0 Instead, Saul lived in the fear of men and so eventually grew mis-trustful of everyone.\xa0 Saul feared his own men (1 Samuel 13:26), the Philistines (chapters 13-15), and eventually David also, as the verse I read today mentions.\xa0

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Three times in chapter 18, Saul is said to fear David.\xa0 It is a fear that grows and eventually consumes Saul by the end of the chapter in our verse from today.\xa0 So much so that Saul becomes an enemy of David for the rest of his days.\xa0 From this point onward, Saul\u2019s fear drives his mistrust.\xa0 He mistrusts his son Jonathan and hurls a spear at him (20:30-33).\xa0 He mistrusts his officials and advisors and accuses them of conspiring against him (22:6-8). He mistrusts the priests of the Lord and has 85 of them ruthlessly killed, along with their families and village (22:9-19).\xa0 Family, state, and religion: Saul mistrusted them all.\xa0 All he trusted, was his fear.

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In this same chapter of 1 Samuel 18, David offers a strong contrast to Saul.\xa0 David, this man after God\u2019s own heart, is said to have been loved by Saul\u2019s son Jonathan, by the Israelite people, and then eventually by chapter\u2019s end also by Saul\u2019s daughter, Michal.\xa0 While Saul is afraid three times, David is loved three times and his circle of trusting relationships grows. \xa0

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Trusting our fears more than our God is a mark of immaturity.\xa0

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Cultivating a mature, fear of the Lord on the other hand, means entrusting our life to the Lord beyond what our eyes can see or our mind can comprehend.\xa0 It is to trust that whatever comes of this mystery of life or the uncertainty of our future, that we are loved and held by God\u2014that we belong to him\u2014and that we therefore may step forward in faith to live another day trustfully, open-handedly, lovingly.\xa0 Whether in times full of joy or sorrow, sickness or health, life or death, in plenty or in want, anxious or peaceful, we trust the ability of our God to hold on to us and make our paths straight\u2014whatever the paths may be.\xa0

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I think this run of chapters about Saul and David is what the Apostle John is reflecting on when he writes about love and fear in 1 John 4:7-21.\xa0 In that section he says: \u201cWe know and rely on the love God has for us.\xa0 God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. \u2026 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear\u201d (1 John 4:16, 18a).\xa0

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As we\u2019ll see in tomorrow\u2019s devotion, this all takes some growing and living into.\xa0 David didn\u2019t catch it all at once either.\xa0 But the invitation is clear enough.\xa0 Receive God\u2019s love.\xa0 Remember who you are in Christ as God\u2019s own child who, in life and in death belongs to him.\xa0 Do not live in the fear of other people, or of not having or being enough, or of not having control of the future, but rather, live in the fear-of-the-Lord, trusting all your ways to him and his love for you.\xa0 In doing so, you may just find your own trust and capacity for loving relationships with others growing as well.

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