Fear Not, but Fear God
Some people get confused when we bring up the subject of fear. It is hard to explain the difference between being afraid and fearing God. Even though they are related, there is a definite difference between the two. We see that when Moses told the people, "Do not fear," but then, he followed that in the same verse by saying the fear of God would keep them from sinning.(Exodus 20:19,20) What are we to believe about fear?
The human emotion of fear will keep us from doing God's will in many different ways. Also, if we are afraid of God or of other people, we will stay away from them, when we are supposed to approach them and relate to them. Those are two of the reasons that regular fear is bad, and the Bible tells us over and over not to be afraid, and not to be ruled by fear. However, the fear of God is more of a strong respect for God. It borders on fear, because of His power and His anger. We do not want to see what He would do to us, if we sin. Therefore, the fear of God is good, because it keeps us from sinning. In short, we need to put away human fear by trusting in God's power and protection, but we need to cultivate a healthy fear of God, so we will obey Him out of respect.
The fact is that many people have it all backwards. They do have many fears that come from insecurity and uncertainty about what people will think or do. They do all kinds of things because they are afraid, and many of those things are not God's will. The same people do not fear God. They laugh at Him and His Word. It is nothing for them disobey God's Word and to feel good about themselves, instead of respecting His authority and power. I pray that we will get rid of the bad fear and keep our good fear of the Lord. It will be a great blessing if we will.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 23-25.
The human emotion of fear will keep us from doing God's will in many different ways. Also, if we are afraid of God or of other people, we will stay away from them, when we are supposed to approach them and relate to them. Those are two of the reasons that regular fear is bad, and the Bible tells us over and over not to be afraid, and not to be ruled by fear. However, the fear of God is more of a strong respect for God. It borders on fear, because of His power and His anger. We do not want to see what He would do to us, if we sin. Therefore, the fear of God is good, because it keeps us from sinning. In short, we need to put away human fear by trusting in God's power and protection, but we need to cultivate a healthy fear of God, so we will obey Him out of respect.
The fact is that many people have it all backwards. They do have many fears that come from insecurity and uncertainty about what people will think or do. They do all kinds of things because they are afraid, and many of those things are not God's will. The same people do not fear God. They laugh at Him and His Word. It is nothing for them disobey God's Word and to feel good about themselves, instead of respecting His authority and power. I pray that we will get rid of the bad fear and keep our good fear of the Lord. It will be a great blessing if we will.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 23-25.