Proverbs 1

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction." (1)

This is my desire - to gain knowledge. For living. For acting. For loving. So, if the beginning of knowledge is to fear the Lord, I need to ask myself: What does it mean to fear the Lord? I don't think this means to be scared of Him, but to be in awe of who He is. To sit back and smile at the awesome God. To take in a breath and be amazed by the Creator God. To sit and stand and kneel and rejoice and laugh and sing and be quite just thinking of God. It's been a while since I've done that. I remember being back in Kona, sitting by myself with the cool night air surrounding me, looking up at the stars and down at the crashing waves. I remember thinking: God is amazing. And just wanting to sit there and try to soak it all in. I miss those days.

"For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster." (12-13)

Complacency. This word has defined me lately, especially when it comes to where I am with my relationship with Jesus. I've been going through the motions and haven't really cared about it. Until now. I've been dissatisfied but didn't really care. Call me foolish. Thank God for His word revealing this to me, bringing it up to the surface and causing me to repent and turn from my foolish ways. I don't want to be simple. It's time to get rid of complacency. Now. Instead, I need to listen to God. Sit back and listen. Then the thoughts of insecurity and dread of disaster, which have plagued me the last few days, will cease. I can be at ease. Yes, that sounds good.

Recap: Be in awe of God. Listen to God.

I think I'm off to a great start!