A Healthy Fear of God

"Fear God and you'll have nothing else to fear."  - Woodrow Kroll

Fear is described as: the feeling or condition of being afraid. We all have experiences with fear. Some of the more common ones can be the fear of flying, heights, clowns, intimacy, death, rejection, people, snakes, failure, and driving.

Then there is the "fear of God." Generally speaking, does this mean that God is someone to be afraid of? Before we try to answer this question, I think it would be helpful to turn to a few Bible verses where this is actually mentioned.

For believers, the fear of God is not to be confused with any worldly fears as this is something completely different. The simplest way to describe it is to be "in awe of God." When we are in awe of something we look at in admiration and wonder (Hebrews 12:28-29). God is not something scary. Believers should revere or worship Him.

For unbelievers, the fear of God is another thing altogether. It represents the fear of His judgment and eternal death, or separation (Luke 12:5; Hebrews 10:31). You can see why they would view God negatively. This is vastly different from the believer's point of view mentioned above.

At one time or another you might have heard the fear of God being described as a "respect" for Him. Naturally we should have a good, healthy respect for Him, but we can expand on this a little more. It would be reasonable to say that believers should have a "biblical fear of God."

What this means for the believer is that he or she should know how much God detests sin, and fear His judgment on it; including in the life of a believer. If you think this means that God will dispense His discipline when it is needed, you are correct (Hebrews 12:5-11).

However, God is not out to get us. Like any other loving parent He desires the best for us. So, we may need a nudge in the right direction by Him from time to time. Not enough to hurt us, mind you, but just enough to instill a fear of His discipline (Hebrews 12:6).

So, when we think of the fear of God, does this mean we should nervously walk around waiting for a lightning bolt to strike us from overhead at any time? Not at all. He loves us. In fact, God promises that nothing can keep us from His love (Romans 8:38-39).

To fear God means that we are to have an admiration for the significant influence that He plays in our lives. We should also devote ourselves to obeying God, bowing to His discipline as He sees fit. Most importantly, we should never fear God, but worship Him in the great reverence He deserves.

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 12:13 ;Proverbs 1:7; Luke 1:50; Psalm 112:1; Deuteronomy 5:29 

Prayer: Dear Lord, I love You with all of my heart, all of my soul, and all of my strength, amen.

Have a blessed day!

J'Anna