Fear God? Are you crazy?!!

As a kid growing up I remember growing up with real fears. For example, I hated the dark and I especially hated going out to my grandparent’s ‘loo’ in Cootamundra (NSW, Australia) because the ‘outhouse’ was home to hundreds (if not millions) of Daddy Long Legs!

Fears can be really horrible and debilitating – they can lead to mental health issues, spoil relationships with other people and stifle an appreciation of life.

Then, why, oh why are we commanded and encouraged to ‘fear the Lord’? Isn’t that a recipe for a spiritual disaster?

There are many, many different types of fears:

Fear of heights is called ACROPHOBIA; not to mention the following, (which I will):

CLAUSTROPHOBIA (fear of confined places)
HYDROPHOBIA (fear of water)
XENOPHOBIA (fear of strangers)
MYSOPHOBIA (fear of dirt - Louis Pasteur is reported to have had such an irrational fear of dirt and infection he refused to shake hands)
NYCLOPHOBIA (fear of darkness)
TAXOPHOBIA (fear of being buried alive)
TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA (fear of number 13)
THALASSAPHOBIA (fear of being seated)
PARRAMATTAPHOBIA (fear of the Mighty Eels – I made that one up for Manly fans)

What does the Bible say about fear?

Actually, a lot!

In this blog I will discuss just 2 types of fear, beginning with:

FEAR #1: A “FEAR” TO BE OVERCOME!

This is the fear that is detrimental, to be discouraged and to be overcome.

This is the “fear” mentioned in Isaiah 41:10 where God says, “So do not fear for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

The Bible does speak about fears that are NOT encouraged by Him! These fears do NOT come from God – but they can be a very real part of us; they are fears we need to overcome; or handed over to God.

One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, “Mommy, will you stay with me all night?” Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, “I can’t dear. I have to sleep in Daddy’s room.”

A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, “The big sissy!”

We are often big sissies too! The proper action to take that will overcome these fears is a TRUSTING OUTSIDE of ourselves – that is, in God (Who fears nothing or nobody).

Before we look at Psalm 56, let’s look at the context. Before the mention of: “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” David is actually being pursued by his enemies – not nice guys at all – please keep this in mind.

In Psalm 56:11 the psalmist writes, “In God I trust: I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? ”

This is an awesome testimony to the power of trusting in God. What the psalmist is saying is that regardless of what happens, he will trust in God. This is the key to overcoming fear - total and complete trust in God – BUT only if we CHOOSE to have TOTAL and COMPLETE trust in HIM.

It is a refusal to give into fear. It is a turning to God even in the darkest times and trusting in God to make things right. And it involves us, at times, in stepping out of our comfort zones.

Let me tell you a true but tragic story: A woman was once walking along a riverbank with her child. Suddenly the child slipped into the river. The mother screamed in terror. She couldn’t swim, and besides, she was in the latter stages of pregnancy. Finally, somebody heard her screaming and rushed down to the riverbank. The utter tragedy was, when they stepped into those murky waters to retrieve that now dead child, they found that the water was only waist deep! That mother could have easily saved her child but didn’t because of a lack of knowledge.

Therefore, we should never lack a growing and true knowledge about Jesus. It's just too important.

FEAR #2: A “FEAR” TO BE NURTURED!

This is the ‘fear’ that is beneficial, to be encouraged; a ‘good’ fear to have to nurture. It’s called:

“THE FEAR OF THE LORD”

This type of fear is not necessarily fear that means to be afraid of God – in the sense of cowering or hiding from Him because He is going to harm you just for the sake of it; as people have believed.

Rather it is a reverential (total respect) awe of God; a reverence for His awesome power, authority and His overwhelming glory.

However, it is also proper respect for His wrath and anger. Consider this quote:

“A Frightening Vulnerability. There is a sense that you are facing a power far greater than you and that you are very much at risk in your present situation.” (Source unknown)

I’m not scared by that statement but some of us should be.

In other words, THE FEAR OF THE LORD is a total acknowledgement of all that God is which comes through knowing Him and all about Him – the more we truly know Him the more we will fear Him.

It’s a melting pot of awe, reverence, adoration, honour, worship, confidence, thankfulness and love coming together to form a very healthy “FEAR”. We could even add: God's character such as His omniscience (all knowing), omnipresence (presence everywhere) etc to the mix and we would be even more positioned to appreciate this type of fear.

In The Chronicles of Narnia, an allegory by C. S. Lewis, the author has two girls, Susan and Lucy, getting ready to meet Aslan the lion, who represents Jesus. Two talking animals, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, prepare the children for the encounter.

“Ooh,” said Susan, “I thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie,” said Mrs. Beaver. “And make no mistake, if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then isn’t he safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the king, I tell you!”

God isn’t safe too in many ways because the Bible tells us He expresses His wrath (anger) every day! Consider the words of Jesus: "Do not be afraid (fear) of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid (fear) of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matt. 10:28.

However, for those that are in a right relationship with God, even though we know that God is awesome in His power, we are still drawn to Him because we know His power is only ever exercised for good and never evil (e.g. Aslan with Lucy and Susan).

And so we can say:

“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a [person] from the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:27)

“He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.” (Proverbs 14:26)

In these verses we see that fear of the Lord provides life, security for our children, protection from evil, confidence, and satisfaction.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: all who follow His precepts have good understanding …” (Psalm 111:10)

Therefore, to fear the Lord should never be looked at as a negative thing– in fact, this attitude carries with it many blessings.

Knowing God as truly an awesome God with unlimited control and power as well as overwhelming glory …

… is like riding the biggest wave and always making it.

It is not always comfortable but we wouldn’t want it any other way!

When I see that awesome powerful wave with all it’s strength and might; I see Mike Parsons (a weak man in comparison to the wave) riding in harmony with the wave, with it’s bumps and slight slips. Parsons, on that awesome wave completes his objective and he is super blessed at the end of that ride.

The secret to Mike Parson's success was not just his total acknowledgement of the power of the wave but his understanding (knowledge) of the wave. We, as Christians, should always totally acknowledge God’s awesome power and incredible glory i.e. fear God and remain in harmony with Him.

Value of fearing the Lord

Let me encourage you to fear God in a way that pleases Him.

Enter into the world of God’s wisdom and gain His perspectives on the things around you (and you will no longer have to rely on 'A Current Affair', 'The Simpson’s' or 'Home and Away' or 'Oprah' or 'Dr Phil' to interpret the world for you). For example …

… choosing NOT to flirt with evil only to be corrupted by it

…. repenting from the heart when we fall into sin – not justifying our sin!

…. valuing our relationship with a God Who is totally holy. Pure, powerful beyond measure and ‘wholly other’ (transcendent) and not our ‘buddy’ or ‘the bloke upstairs’.

... and understanding that the God we reverently 'fear' is our Heavenly Father Who loves us so very, very much!

Finally, a big challenge:

Jerry Bridges writes: "There was a time when committed Christians were known as God-fearing people. This was a badge of honour. But somewhere along the way we lost it. Now the idea of fearing God, if thought of at all, seems like a relic from the past."

Let us ‘fear the Lord’ and behold His majesty!

SR CRACKNELL
(Includes borrowed sources).