- Day 46 of 50, and we are going strong with this powerful word from Malachi 4. You’ll be super blessed by this! 📖🔥🤗
- You can join in fully and let’s “tattoo” God’s Word in our hearts! 📖🤍
- God bless you, and looking forward to your lessons, insights, and comments.
“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.”
Malachi 4:2 (HCSB)
Dear friend, today I would like to share a few nuggets from Malachi 4 on Fear, Love, & Fathers. Let’s start with Fear.
- There is something special, almost peculiar, about the people who fear the Lord. Scripture consistently sets them apart. Yet this “fear” is not terror or dread.
- It is a reverential awe; a deep awareness of God’s majesty that humbles the heart and shapes the life.
Solomon, the wisest king, tells us that wisdom begins where the fear of the Lord begins. It is the posture of the heart that says, “God, You are God. I honour You first.”
What then is the Fear of the Lord?
The fear of the Lord is:
- A reverent awe for who God is.
- A heart that values God above everything else.
- A willingness to obey Him because you trust His character.
- A posture of humility that recognizes His holiness and majesty.
To put it simply, the fear of the Lord is loving God so deeply that you are careful not to dishonour Him.
Even Jesus, the Son of God, modeled this. Isaiah tells us that among all the magnificent dimensions of the Spirit resting on Him, His delight was in the fear of the Lord.
“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him — a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight will be in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes, He will not execute justice by what He hears with His ears,”
Isaiah 11:2-3 HCSB
If Jesus delighted in the fear of the Lord, then surely it must be precious.
What then is reserved for those who fear the Lord?
- Provision: “Fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.” (Ps. 34:9)
- Wisdom: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Prov. 9:10)
- Protection: “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them.” (Ps. 34:7)
- Intimacy: “The secret counsel of the Lord is for those who fear Him.” (Ps. 25:14)
- Long life: “The fear of the Lord prolongs life.” (Prov. 10:27)
The fear of the Lord is not a prison; it is a pathway to blessing.
Those Who Love The Lord
Scripture also highlights another group: those who love God.
“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.”
Romans 8:28 HCSB
Fear and love must walk together. Reverence without love becomes religion and love without reverence becomes carelessness. David captures this balance beautifully:
Those who love the Lord are found in the daily habit of seeking Him. They are always in the posture of coming to the Lord to spend time with Him, whom their soul loves.
What does it mean to love the Lord?
- Obedience expresses love: Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.” (John 14:23)
- Love includes affection and loyalty: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
- Love is shown through trust in the Lord: “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
To love God is to keep His Word, seek His face, and trust His heart.
And Then… Fathers
“And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.””
Malachi 4:6 HCSB
Amazingly, the relationship between a child and their parent often mirrors how they relate to God. In truth, the entire story of redemption is the story of a loving Father calling His children home.
But fear, specifically the wrong kind of fear, can block that relationship. A child who fears a father in terror rarely enjoys him. In the same way, believers who fear God wrongly cannot receive His love freely. Healthy fear is always paired with love.
- And this shows even in our earthly relationships. Paul warned Timothy that in the last days, one mark of a broken generation would be people who are “disobedient to parents” (2 Tim. 3:2). Why? Because honour is a spiritual principle.
- Those who fear and love the Lord naturally honour their parents. Because love for God must translate into love for the people He gave us.
Fear, Love, & Fathers; These three words tie together the heart of God.
To fear Him is to honour Him. To love Him is to seek Him. To know Him as Father is to enjoy Him.
And those who walk in this rhythm, fear and love, find themselves living in the warmth of the Father’s will, under the healing light of the Sun of Righteousness.
May your heart fear Him, love Him, and reflect Him in every relationship you build.
Hey, you're blessed and highly favoured and dearly loved! Do share your lessons from Malachi 4. Remember to tag us and your friends on 📲:
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