“Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways! You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like wild olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.” (Ps 128:1-4)

”..the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him.” (Ps 147.11)

”..the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.” (Ps 19.9)

”..He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him.” (Ps 145.19)

”..those who fear Him have no lack.” (Ps 34.9)

”..how abundant is your goodness stored up for those who fear You.” (Ps 31.19)

”..the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him.” (Ps 33.18)

”..the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him.” (Ps 34.7)

“Who is the man who fears the Lord? Him will He instruct in the way he should choose.” (Ps 25.12

“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant.” (Ps 25.14)

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Prov 1.7)

The (artificial) paradox of fearing God while not being afraid of God–a fear that makes you draw near– is hard thing to articulate, but oh how these promises make me long to understand! There is hope:

“Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Prov 2:4-5)

The passage that has helped me the most lately is this one:

”..now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (Gen 22.12)

I want this more than anything in the world.