The Reverence

"The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD." Isaiah 11:2 (NIV)

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I confused the fear of the Lord with fright for a long time.

I thought reverence meant flinching, keeping my distance, treating You the way one treats something dangerous rather than something holy.

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But the fear You give is not the fear that runs.

It is the fear that kneels. The fear that takes off its shoes. The fear that stands in awe rather than terror, because it has finally understood the weight of who it is standing before.

I have felt it, not dread, but a hush, the kind that falls over a room when something sacred walks in.

I called it discomfort.

It was You, teaching me the difference between being afraid of You and being in awe of You.

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Forgive me for confusing awe with fright for so long.

You are not to be run from.

You are to be knelt before.

Spirit of reverence, teach me the hush of awe instead of the flinch of fear.

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A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for a reverence that draws near instead of running away.

Thank You for teaching me the weight of holiness without the terror of it.

Let me kneel before You today, not flinch from You. Amen.

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