For reasonably intelligent people, Carolyn and I have spent more than our fair share of time searching for our keys. Like you, we need our keys. You might even say that they are vital to our being able to function. On our key rings we have the keys to our cars, the keys to our house, and the keys to our various places of work. In a separate key box we have dozens of keys that we don't use anymore. Some of them (okay, most of them) we don't even know what exactly they go to. But, since they might prove to be the very key we need someday, we keep them around just in case.

Getting back to the question, "Have you seen my keys?" Why, if the keys are essential to the proper functioning of our everyday lives, do we have to ask this question? You would think for something as important as being able to drive our cars and being able to get into our houses and our places of work that we would be a little more careful. If you did think this you would be wrong, for we still ask this very question all too often. Who knows how many hours we have had our lives on hold just waiting to find the right key.

This, in essence, is the purpose for my daily articles: I believe that there are certain keys to life that we cannot function without, but that we all the same have somehow seemed to misplace. Here is one of them:

The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. 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 33:5-6, NIV

In a world that is highly unstable, we have a sure foundation: The Lord! He offers us wisdom and knowledge and even salvation - in abundance! We cannot function properly without knowing what to do and how to do it, (knowledge and wisdom) but we very often are trying to access these great treasures without the right key. And while the worldly keys we have may actually open a door somewhere, the wisdom and knowledge these rooms contain are counterfeit and often do more harm than good.

Then we have the offer of salvation! The very reason that we are here is that we might be saved and live for all eternity in service to the Lord, but we rarely think about it. And if we do, we usually take for granted that salvation is just something that God will give to us, no matter what. If you don't believe that, consider this: When was the last time you went to a funeral where the person being memorialized was not "for sure" already in Heaven?

But, we can be sure of our salvation. We just have to have the right key. Isaiah reveals that this very key is the "fear of the LORD", yet we rarely think about this key at all. In fact, it is often just one of those keys that we might keep around somewhere, but we may no longer even be sure what it is for anymore. This is why we read and study the Word of God. It is so that we can find out about the keys to the treasures we so earnestly desire!