Am I allowed to talk about the fear of the Lord?Is anyone actually reading? It is amazing to me how strong a reaction I get when I bring up the fear of the Lord. It seems like something previous generations were much more comfortable with. But what does it really mean? Are we supposed to be afraid of the Lord? How can we love God with all our heart when we are scared of Him? A couple of months ago the Lord started talking to me about fearing Him. I asked why I would want to…and He replied…because it is the key to so many things you want:
- Deliverance out of the hand of all my enemies1
- Deliverance of my soul from death2
- Being kept alive in famine2
- His mercy3
- Riches and honor and life4
- Lacking no good thing5
- Being my friend6
- Plucking my feet out of the net6
- Experiencing the steadfast love of the Lord7
- Refuge for my children8
- Life, resting satisfied; not being visited by harm9
- Prolonged life10
- Fulfilled desires11
- Being saved when I cry11
- Being hidden from the plots of men and stored in His shelter from the strife of tongues12
- Beginning of wisdom13
Now He had my interest so I started doing some research. Luke 12:5-7 “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” This passage shows the juxtaposition of fearing the Lord so beautifully:
- Fear Him
- Fear not – you are so valuable to the Lord, He knows you so well that He even knows the number of hairs on your head.
What?!! Now I am more confused.
Clearly the only way to make progress is to try it out. So for a few days I feared the Lord, recognizing that in comparison to Him I am nothing. I am like an ant and He could squash me at any moment and wouldn’t need to break a sweat. I started paying attention to the mountains and how He can move them and I can’t even move a big rock in my backyard. I thought back to some of the biggest storms I have ever seen, knowing that if I had been in the wrong place at the wrong time I could easily have died and yet He probably doesn’t even feel the breeze of the storm on His big toe (does God have a big toe?).
I began to recognize His enormity, His power and His ultimate authority and control over everything!
Then He spoke to me about how much I fear other things and asked me to transfer that fear over to Him. Not sure what this meant I asked a few questions and then gave it a try. Over the next few days, every time I noticed I was afraid of something; being hit by a car while riding my bike, losing my job, getting sick, making a big mistake and blowing my life, losing friends or family, my car breaking down, satan’s attacks…I reminded myself that God is so much bigger than all of these things and I need to fear Him instead. I reminded myself that if He chose to protect Me I would be fine, but if not, I would be in trouble. I didn’t really understand it, I just knew if I was going to fear something I needed it to be the Lord rather than my circumstances or the unknown.
What came next completely surprised me. I began to understand God’s love for me in a very different way. I am tiny, He is huge and yet He is so intimate and interested and delicate with me. This tells me so much about who He is! When I truly put Him in His place as God of everything, more powerful than anything else in the entire world and bigger than all my fears, I realize how significant His love is and feel truly loved by my creator. Instead of being an encumbrance or a burden I began to feel like His little girl. I watched dad’s playing with their daughters, with great laughter and abandon, and realized God feels that same way about me.
The Fear of the Lord opened up our relationship in a way I never imagined.
It opened up worship and praise like I didn’t know possible. I
t opened up a sense of gratitude I hadn’t experienced. It makes it so much easier to turn fear into gratitude, praise and worship.
As I write this in Covid-19 quarantine, a time when there is so much fear in the world, I look through the list above of what He promises and they all ring true. T
he most amazing thing is that we don’t even have to come up with the fear of the Lord on our own. It is something He provides.
“I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of Me in their hearts, that they may not turn from Me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all My heart and all My soul.” Jeremiah 32:37-41
If you are up for an adventure – give it a try and see what happens!
References (all from ESV):
1: “..you shall fear the Lord your God, and He will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” 2 Kings 17:39
2: “Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” Psalm 33:18
3: “And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.” Luke 1:50
4: “The reward for humility and the fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” Proverbs 22:4
5: “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Psalm 34:9-10
6: “The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He makes known to them His covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net.” Psalm 25:14
7: “But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember to do His commandments. The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all.” Psalm 103:17
8: “In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.” Proverbs 14:26 9: “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.” Proverbs 19:23 10: “The fear of the Lord prolongs life” Proverbs 10:27 11: “He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love Him, but all the wicked He will destroy.” Psalm 145:19 12: “Oh, how abundant is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You and worked for those who take refuge in You in the sight of the children of mankind! In the cover of Your presence You hide them from the plots of men; You store them in Your shelter from the strife of tongues.” Psalm 31:19 13: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:10
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