The Way, The Truth, and Life

by Royce

The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight.
Proverbs 9:10

Almost every time after I got home from holidays abroad, I always get the blues. It’s a familiar descent: the return to a country I don’t want to live in, work I don’t want to do, ministry I reluctantly accepted. This isn’t complaint. It’s reality that needs to be faced.

Here’s what I’ve learned about doing the right thing: it doesn’t always feel good. But it guarantees no regrets.

This holiday brought a magical moment. Not just experiencing snow, which you can get easily in winter, but experiencing snowfall. There’s a difference. Snowfall is witnessing creation in the act of becoming. You can’t schedule it. You can’t manufacture it. You can only receive it.

Through that moment, God reminded me again: for Him, everything is easy. Everything you haven’t heard, cannot imagine, seems impossible from where you stand, is easy for Him to give. Not as manipulation. Not as transaction. As gift.

But here’s what struck me about that snowfall: the magic is already diminishing. Next time won’t feel as wondrous. That’s the nature of created experiences. They peak, then fade. Even the most spectacular moments follow the law of diminishing returns.

But Jesus doesn’t.

Every encounter with Him expands rather than contracts. Every revelation opens into deeper revelation. Every experience of His presence makes you hunger for more, not because the last one disappointed, but because it satisfied so completely you know there’s infinite more to discover.

This is why Solomon wrote that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Not fear as in terrified. The Hebrew is Yirah (יִרְאָה), meaning deep reverence, awe, respect. And wisdom is Chokhmah (חָכְמָה), signifying foundational knowledge and insight rooted in honoring God as the Holy One, Qadosh (קְדֹשִׁ֣ים).

Yirah produces Chokhmah. Awe produces wisdom.

Here’s what I’m learning in this uncomfortable reality I’m navigating: I don’t need another magical experience. I need deeper Yirah. Because Yirah recalibrates everything. It transforms a country I don’t want to live in into mission field. Work I don’t want to do into Kingdom assignment. Ministry I reluctantly accepted into sacred trust.

Yirah doesn’t make hard things easy. It makes them meaningful.

This year, and maybe every year after, my prayer is singular: that I can help you experience Jesus’s revelation that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Not as concept. Not as doctrine. But as encounter. Personal. Undeniable. Expanding.

Because in this crazy world, we don’t need more spectacular moments. We need Yirah that produces Chokhmah. Awe that generates wisdom. Reverence that births peace.

Jesus promised He is the Way. Not that He shows the way. That He is the way. Through work you didn’t choose. Countries you didn’t want. Seasons that feel diminishing. He remains the path.

He is the Truth. Not facts about reality. Reality itself. The foundation that holds when everything else shifts.

He is the Life. Not enhanced existence. Abundant, overflowing, never-diminishing Life that makes every encounter with Him more wonder-filled than the last.

So I pray for you: that the Father would give you Yirah that produces Chokhmah. In whatever uncomfortable reality you’re facing, may you encounter Jesus as the Way when you’re lost, the Truth when you’re confused, the Life when you’re depleted. May Jesus satisfy you completely, because God’s promise that His grace is enough isn’t just a principle. His grace is a Person: Jesus.

May every encounter with Him expand your capacity for wonder. Not because the last one failed, but because it satisfied so deeply you know there’s infinite more to discover. May you become someone who navigates this crazy world not through spectacular experiences that fade, but through deepening awe of Him. Through Christ, who is always more than you imagined. Amen.