The Fear of God

 Fear is a powerful motivation. It will either propel us to fight or to flee. When we are gripped by fear, we will do things that we did not think were possible. Also, we will not do things that would bring us harm. God knows this, and He uses a healthy fear to benefit us, as believers. We call that type of fear the "fear of God." It is not like fear of what others can do to us. It is a healthy respect for what God can and will do to us, if we fail to obey Him. We all need a huge dose of the fear of God to really live the Christian life. That is just what Moses taught the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai. (Exodus 20:20) He told the people not to be afraid, but that God had shown His power on the mountain to test them, and so that their fear of Him would keep them from sinning. I wonder how much fear of God we have today?

We are not to be "afraid" of God. He loves us, and He wants to have intimate fellowship with us constantly. However, He is holy, and He hates sin. He knows that when we sin, it separates us from Him and brings destruction in our lives. Therefore, He shows us His power in various ways to test us. He is testing to see if we really accept Him as the All-powerful, holy God, or if we are content to do things our own way. He wants us to see Him in power, so we will be deterred from sinning by having that healthy fear of God. That is a great act of love for us. He wants what is best for us. So, how is your fear of God? If you have the right fear of God, the level of sin in your life will be low. Of course, the opposite is also true. Therefore, I want to challenge all of us to ask the Lord to show us the level of our fear of the Lord and to make any necessary submission to Him, so that we live in a way that honors Him and flees from all sin. That is His design for us.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 23-25.