Fear of the Lord: One of His Greatest Blessings
Ravi Zacharias was once asked what his first words to the Lord would be when he entered Heaven. Ravi said that he was not nearly as interested in what he was going to say as he was in what the Lord would have to say to him. He also said he was terrified of what God would say (Memorial Service, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBZxZG9nkC0.) This submitted servant of the Lord knew a type of holy fear that is a form of humility.
A dear friend of mine, Julie Van Gorp, teaches often on the subject of fear on her True View Ministries website (https://www.trueviewministries.org/.) Her “Faith Your Fear Scripture and Prayer Cards” resource is one of my favorite gifts to give someone anxious about finances, the future, or anything our flesh allows us to fear. She makes it clear that faith is the opposite of and the antidote to fear.
But there is this other type of fear, a fear that is actually the sign of a robust relationship with the Lord. This type of fear is as different from the unhealthy fear Julie writes about as it can be. Ironically, this type of fear is actually the sign of a deep faith and belief in the Almighty God, the eternal God, Jehovah. This fear is more akin to respect and a rightly developed sense of the incomparable power of God. It is an acknowledgment that every breath we take, everything that will happen to us in the future, and every beat of our hearts is His decision and not our own. It is an acknowledgment that it is Jehovah alone who keeps our enemies at bay and protects our homes, families, and possessions. Only Him. Only God. He holds the ultimate power. Yes, He sifts some of the troubles the enemy plagues us with through His fingers, and He has already told us that “in the world we will have trouble,” but our eternal safety and protection cannot be overcome by any enemy because He loves us. That is a lot of power.
Some are uncomfortable with the term “fear of God.” Some Christians want to talk exclusively about His mercy and love, and I agree they are much more winsome when telling others about our Lord and Savior and the gift of salvation. When I am in a relationship with a nonbeliever, my conversations are almost exclusively about God’s love for that person and not about His awesome authority and sovereignty. Almost. But at times, sharing the part of God’s identity that reflects His limitless sovereignty and authority is needed to introduce the person to the true and Living God. Consider these Biblical reasons I have arrived at this conclusion.
Proverbs explicitly says that “the fear of the Lord:
· Is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
· Is the beginning of knowledge.
· Prolongs life and leads to life. Proverbs 13:14, 1:7, 10:27, 13:23
Those who fear Him gain:
· His mercy from generation to generation.
· His friendship.
· His abundant goodness.
· The stability of our times and abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge,
Luke 1:50 Psalm 25:14a, Psalm 21:19, Isaiah 33:6
When God’s children have a holy, reverent type of fear for Him, Psalms says He
· Makes known to them his covenant.
· Fulfills the desire of those who fear him; hears their cry and saves them.
· Encamps around them, delivers them, and they have no lack.
· Blesses them and says,” You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.”
Psalm 25:14b, 145:19, 115:11, 34:7-9, 128:1-4
Based on these wonderful promises, why would we ever fail to tell others about the blessings of the fear of the Lord? The giants of our faith greatly valued this reverent type of fear of the Lord:
Noah “found favor in the eyes of the Lord…Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God” (Genesis 6:8-9.) Here is what Hebrews 11:7 says about this man who had the high privilege of walking with God: “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” So Noah’s faithfulness was marked by a reverent fear. I want whatever Noah had that prompted God to single him out as the only man whose family would be saved from world-wide annihilation.
Abraham was singled out throughout the Old and New Testaments for his great faith. God counted His obedient posture towards Him as righteousness (Romans 4:3.) It is important to note that Abraham was highly skeptical of any place that did not have the fear of the Lord. He asked Sarah to lie and pretend to be his sister before they entered Gerar, saying, “…There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.” (Genesis 20:11)
Peter gives the early church this guidance for how to live: “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” I Peter 2:17
Paul wrote this about the growth of the early church and what churches need to do to multiply in Acts 9:31: “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”
And finally, Isaiah said, “the fear of the Lord is Zion's[a] treasure” (Isaiah 33:6.)
So now that I have demonstrated that we have been told to fear the Lord by the great men of faith and by the Lord Himself, why does the Bible have some version of the words “Fear not” over 300 times? If you have not read these verses in context, you might think there is a contradiction, but as usual, that is just not true. We, God’s children, know that His desire is to use His awesome power and might for His glory and to bless and preserve us so we can glorify Him forever. God’s tenderness towards us is likened to a hen gathering her chicks (Matthew 33:37.) Psalm 91:4 compares God to a dove protecting her young when it says, “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” So although, we should have the proper estimation of the Lord and a respectful fear of His power, He is our Abba, our Father, our Daddy, and He loves us very much. We can believe Isaiah 43:1 when it says, “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” We can believe God when He says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope Jeremiah 29:11.) We know the terrifying power is there and acknowledge and respect it, but we know He loves us and wants no harm to come to us. Living with the fear of the Lord can free you from the fear of anything the world will use to worry you or intimidate you.
Think of a time you were aware of His vast power. How did it make you feel? What impact does God’s immeasurable strength and power have on your faith?
I realized just how huge God is and how small I am was when flying low over the Rocky Mountains for the first time. When I see the things His hands created like the Rockies or the seemingly endless ocean with its fathomless depths, I feel just how larger than this life God is. And then I think that this God who could obliterate the world with a whisper, allowed Himself to be “crushed for (my) iniquities (Isaiah 53:5.) What love! What love!