The Fear of GOD

It’s a blessing when our eyes are open to the truth, mercy and love of Jesus Christ. When He shows us this mercy there is a desire that rises in us that wants to please Him, a least that’s how is is for me. I can remember when God became Father and walking with Him. Along this walk there was some stumbling and getting back up and repeating cycles. I was trying to turn the corner in my walk, but I was still tolerating certain mindsets (lust), friendships, worldliness, and being double minded. Ultimately it was because I didn’t understand the Fear of God, the Fear of the Lord. I knew His love, I finally understood what He had done for me on the cross. It wasn’t like I wanted to take advantage of Him, but like many believers I had to learn more about His character. I needed to get more of a grasp of who He is. The fear of the Lord was not taught in great detail at my home church, that is why it is important to seek Him for ourselves and to diligently seek His face through prayer and reading His Word.

A powerful man of God once said, “if you are not careful you can begin to see The Lord as a grandfather and not a Father.” What did this man mean by this? He meant typically a child can get away with a lot more misbehaving when under the care of their grandparents than when under their fathers. God doesn’t have any grandchildren (you cannot be saved through your parents faith). The Lord is love but He also means business like a loving Father. He cares about the deeds that are done in these bodies. He desires to be put first at all times. I’m not claiming to have it all figured out, but do realize this, a relationship with God that doesn’t contain the fear of God is incomplete. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. The fear of God is a grace to us, it is a blessing and a good thing for the believer, it protects us, it is the only healthy fear, the only fear that God wants us to have is the fear of Him.

It is by mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil

Proverbs 16:6

This verse describes the balance of our walk with the Lord. It is the steadfast love of God that purges someone of sin when they believe. But it doesn’t stop there. There is a motivation to repent that comes in addition to that love and it is the Fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord makes it difficult to play around with sin. When we are in awe of Him we understand that He means what He says. We will begin to ask ourselves questions like “what would God think?”, “does this action honor the Lord?” The fear of the Lord will renew your mind. Think about it when you fear someone or something you are giving them the power to control your thoughts and how you respond. The more we fear the Lord the more our actions will come into agreement with His nature simply because of our reverence for Him.

The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

Proverbs 29:25

Fearing God is not cripple us at all. It actually sets us free from the fear of anyone else. When you fear the Lord causing you to walk in obedience to Him you were not fear man. “What does he think of me?” “What does she think of me?” Who cares?! As long as I am pleasing in the site of God. Fearing people is a trap. It affects what we do, our conduct. When we are concerned with fitting in or what people think of us, or what they can even do to us, that is the fear of man. When we were younger how much trouble could we have avoid if we had the fear of the Lord over the fear of man. Peer pressure, being overly concerned of the opinions of others. Sometimes standing up for righteousness can cost us something in this life. We see this more and more in the USA through cancel culture. If someone holds to the principles of God you can lose your career in many cases. But Jesus wants us to fear God more. We have a far better reward in heaven.

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

Jeremiah 32:40

Remember, the fear of God liberates us from this current world which is passing away as we speak. God’s fear is underrated in the body of Christ, the Lord himself speaks of His fear as if it were something very valuable to have. It’s a guard rail to protects us from going too far. To fear God is to love Him. Let’s embrace it.

4 Comments

  1. Amen Marcus, amen. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. “ Prov 9:10
    There is a motivation to repent that comes in addition to that love and it is the Fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord makes it difficult to play around with sin.

    “ And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.” Jer 32:4

    Remember, the fear of God liberates us from this current world which is passing away as we speak!

  2. Amen Marc! Christ wants us to fear him and listen to him, because He wants the best for us eternally. If we turn our ears from the truth, we might enjoy a few seasons of reckless joy, but eternally we will be tormented.

    “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death” proverb 14:27.

    Thank you for this message 🙏

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