I was reading through Isaiah again and came across this beautiful truth in verse 6 of Chapter 33.

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. Isaiah 33:6 (NIV)

I love the truths in this verse.

1 – God is a sure foundation for our times. The fact that He is a sure foundation would be good enough, especially when life can feel so uncertain and the things that can feel foundation often wobble way more than we would be comfortable with. However the fact that Isaiah specifies that He will be a sure foundation for your times totally enriches this idea that regardless of what season we are in, even what century we are in. Often people think of God as an old man from an older time but God is outside time, He is there in our past, He is right here in our present and He is in our future.

2 – He is a rich source. Not only is He a foundation we can build upon but we receive something from Him as that foundation. Isaiah names salvation, wisdom and knowledge as the three things we receive from Him as our foundation. The fact that He is a rich source suggests that it is a source that will not run not and what we receive from that source will be the best.

3 – The keys are in our hands. Isaiah also tells us the key to these treasures – the fear of the Lord. When we read the word fear here we often default to our current understanding of that word which relates more to terror or being afraid of something. The meaning here is more to do with reverence and awe. I remember someone once describing to me as the feeling you have when you look at the ocean and you see huge waves or look from a mountain and see the earth tiny below. You’re so impressed with all that you can see that it ends up making you feel so small and you have an awe and a reverence around it all. You wouldn’t say that you fear the ocean but you do have a respect for it that you wouldn’t take it for granted! When we give the Lord that place in our lives and look at Him in that way we will receive all that this verse promises.