Encouragement

FEAR OF THE LORD, OR FEARFUL?

by Christian Belyea
02/21/18
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FEAR OF THE LORD, OR FEARFUL?

By

Christian Belyea

     Do we fear the LORD?  Or are we fearful of Him?

     To be sure, there is no reason to be afraid of God.  For example, we can commit the same sin seventy times seven in a single day, and He will always forgive us (Matthew 18:22).  Not only that, but He does not punish us as our sins deserve. Punishment for our sins was borne by Christ on the cross.  Rather, He woos us to repentance instead (Romans 2:4).  However, when He must discipline us to get us to learn our lesson, He always, always tempers it with mercy (Psalms 108:4).  Yes, some discipline can seem as harsh as punishment, but it isn’t punishment.  It is only God’s last harsh resort when we willfully disregard His leniency.

     But even when our discipline seems devastating, it is only meant to correct us (Proverbs 3:12).  No.  God isn’t a judge who goes for our jugular each time we mess up big time.  Rather, He is a doting Dad, lovingly disciplining us so we can become law-abiding citizens in His kindly kingdom.  He also disciplines us in the fiery kilns of affliction to conform us to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).

     Some other reasons why God disciplines us are to prove our faith, to test our devotion to Him, to address attitudes, habits, and behaviors in our lives, to silence the enemy, to make us more empathetic to others, and to rid us of unrighteous people, places and personal things.  So, discipline is God’s way of molding us into maturity.  Sort of like pruning the dead branches in our hearts so we can bear much fruit (John 15:2).

     Now the fear of the LORD is much different.  Fear of the LORD is to have a reverential awe of and respect for God.  In short, that fear is to love and obey Him respectfully.  He is, after all, God Almighty!  And awe is a wondrous thing, too.  I mean, think of it…The God who flung the stars into the heavens, who fashioned this fanciful planet, who gives us springtime and harvest, is the God who loves us no matter how many times we mess up.  And speaking about awe…just look at a bird in flight.  How did He do that?  We certainly can’t create such majestic creatures, let alone sprout wings of our own to sail the skies.  And look at the ants He animated.  Although they have no leader, they all work together for the common goal of finding food! 

     Yes, this God, whom we should hold in awe made majestic mountains, towering trees, babbling brooks, green grass, beautiful butterflies, whispering winds, pussy cats that purr, and delightful little doggies that lick our faces to tell us they love us.  Moreover, He gave us hands with four fingers and thumbs that work in unison with grips so that objects don’t slip from our grasp.  And how on earth can God keep watch over all of us, tending to every detail of our lives, all at the same time?  Why, it’s almost beyond belief!  And these are just a few of the reasons we should be in awe of Him.

     We should also respect this delightful Deity because He is holy.  Which means He is set apart as righteous to the max.  To be sure, He has no darkness within.  Secrets, yes.  But no shadows.  He certainly isn’t like man, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23).  And being holy, He has laid down some laws for us to be as holy as we possibly can be, too (Romans 8:29).  After all, God made us in His image before the fall ruined everything and only wants to restore that unblemished image in us. We are to respect His holiness because He is honest, righteous, just, fair, glorious, gracious, sinless, loving, longsuffering, compassionate, kind to the undeserving, and oh, so very forgiving.

     We reverentially love Him because He went to such great lengths to rescue wretches such as we.   We love Him because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).  And yes, He loved us before He wove us together in the womb…when we were only in His imagination…when He could only fancy us from afar.  Moreover, we love Him because of all people He chose us personally to be His children, heirs and joint heirs with Jesus (Ephesians 1:4 and Romans 8:17).  And finally, we love Him for all the ways He takes care of us, protects us, guides and provides for us (Proverbs 10:3 and Philippians 4:19).

     Why, our loving LORD even sent His own sinless Son to earth to do the time for our crimes to make us right with Him again.  That’s right.  Christ was nailed to a cross, hanging there in the scorching heat, chest heaving as He gasped for air, mouth parched, every joint yanked excruciatingly out of place, having been whipped until His skin hung in strips…all so that He could rescue us from the horrors or hell!  Now, if that isn’t love that should be reciprocated, then I just don’t know.  This is why we should reverentially love Him and not take Him or His grace and salvation for granted.

     Fear of the LORD is also reverential obedience.  All God’s laws and commandments are meant to protect, us, others, and even God Himself from being hurt.  For instance, the consequences of sexual immorality are AIDS and a host of other venereal diseases.  Not only that, but it hurts God to see His children acting like animals when we give in to sexual sin.  Moreover, the law that states we should love our neighbor as ourselves keeps others from feeling lonely and unappreciated.  In short, God’s laws are meant to engender love and protection. 

     Not only that, but our obedience is an act of worship in itself!  Our obedience also proves we love God.  As Christ said, “If you love me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).  So, when we obey God, our lives of purity are like poetry in motion, pleasing God to no end.  And obedience is not so difficult to do.  Not really.  For the Word says: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).  It is also written: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).

     Now, don’t get me wrong.  People aren’t perfect, and we will miss the mark many times.  But God understands.  He knows that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23).  Even so, God is touched beyond measure in His infinite heart that we are at least trying to obey Him—even when we keep failing miserably, stumbling over the same stupid sins that beset us.  I know…

     So, you see, my friends, fear of the LORD has nothing to do with being afraid of God, who only wants to break our will—not our spirit or our hearts.  He just wants us all to be like Him again.  He longs for us to be as Adam and Eve were in the beginning before they feasted on the forbidden fruit.  Before they fell flat on their faces.  Before they forked over their innocence to sin!  To that effect, God will keep working on us until He accomplishes this goal (Philippians 1:6).  Why?  Well…in the words of the Book of Isaiah: “Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4).  Yup.  That’s right.  God honors us.  God loves us.  God sees us as precious.

     So, rest assured, my friends, God isn’t a tyrant to be afraid of.  Rather He is a tender-hearted tiger with the heart of a pussy cat towards those who fear Him.  Praise the LORD!!!