MORE THAN A FEELING

The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

-Matthew 4:3-4

In an age of moral decay and spiritual apostasy, it’s easy to drift and wind up with a shipwrecked faith. Culture tells us to follow hearts that are deceitful above all things. Emotions urge us to bend with the wind. But Proverbs 1:7 declares something radically countercultural:

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

This is no vague moral platitude. In Hebrew, “beginning” (reshith) means genesis, chief, the foundation — the principal starting point for everything that is wise, true, and lasting. And “the fear of the LORD” is not some personal sense of reverence or a warm emotional response to divinity. It is absolute allegiance to God's revealed will — His WORD — and it is the line between wisdom and folly.

Psalm 19:7–11 makes this even more explicit. In poetic parallelism, David equates “the fear of the LORD” with God's law, commandments, statutes, and judgments. These are not abstract spiritual concepts; they are concrete expressions of God's character, will, and authority. This becomes profoundly clear in Matthew 4 when Jesus, the incarnate WORD of God (John 1:1), is tempted by the devil in the wilderness. After forty days of fasting, Jesus is weak and hungry — a moment when feelings and physical desires could easily override spiritual clarity. But when Satan tempts Him to turn stones into bread, Jesus replies:

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” -Matt. 4:4

Let that sink in: Jesus, the eternal Logos, answers not with emotion, instinct, or subjective reasoning, but with the objective WORD of God. He resists Satan not by gut feeling or personal willpower, but by quoting Scripture. If the Son of God navigated temptation by standing on God’s written WORD, how much more should we?

We cannot live by how we feel. Emotions change in a heartbeat. The sands of culture are constantly shifting. Hormones fluctuate. Circumstances deceive. But the WORD of God is the rock that never moves or wavers. King Jesus didn’t reason with the devil; He didn’t say, “I feel like that’s wrong.” He said, “It is written...” That’s the pattern — and the power — of the fear of the LORD.

Yet today, we see this foundation under assault. Sex is divorced from covenant. Truth is treated as subjective. Gender is viewed as fluid and non-binary. Grace is weaponized to affirm sin rather than rescue our brothers and sisters from it. In all of this, the same old lie whispers: “Did God really say?” (Gen. 3:1). When people despise God’s WORD by ignoring it, rewriting it, or softening its edges, they despise God Himself.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). This isn’t legalism. It’s love that obeys. Love that trusts. Love that fears the LORD rightly — not in dread, but in devotion. Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us what that life looks like:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

The fear of the LORD is a life built on the WORD of God. It is total abandoned unto YAHWEH. It is joyful surrender and humble submission. Legit faith that acts in wisdom, it doesn't just believe as an intellectual exercise. We can't confuse reverence with sentimentality. Don't call subjective spirituality “wisdom.” There is only one source of truth, and it is NOT inside us — it is in the transcendent WORD of God. The fear of the LORD is not a mood. It's much more than a mindset. It's our commitment to live by what God has revealed as His expressed will, no matter how we feel about it. The bedrock of faith is Christ. Upon that, He said He would build His Church. His WORD is unchanging and unshakable. The wise build their lives upon it... upon Him, and we will never be put to shame!

Blessings & love,

Kevin M. Kelley

Pastor

BigIslandChristianChurch.com