To Fear God...

What does that even mean…To fear God? Are we supposed to be afraid of Him as if we saw a ghost? Or as if we were being robbed at gunpoint??..scary! Is THAT the kind of fear we should have for God? How can we be expected to love Him if we fear Him?

I just talked to a friend about this today, and since she never understood what fearing the Lord really meant (and I didn't either for a long time) I figured it was time to put it out there.

So here's my understanding of fearing the Lord.

As a child, were you ever afraid of doing something wrong because you feared your parent's reaction or punishment for you?? 

I'm sure we ALL know what that feels like..we can share stories later.

But THAT is the same kind of fear we should have for the Lord. Not being afraid of Him for no reason, but being afraid to sin because we are afraid of His wrath. Just like being afraid of a spanking from dad or a "talkin' to" from mom, the wrath of God can allow uncomfortable and sometimes painful things to happen as a punishment for sin. Psalm 76:8 says, "From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still,"

Make sense? It's a healthy dose of fear that gets our attention and helps us want to obey Him. Fear also leads to wisdom. Proverbs 9:10 says, 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (NIV)

So fearing God is the beginning of wisdom. Meaning if we are living our lives fearing Him in a way where we heed His instruction, and we try not to sin, then we will actually gain wisdom. And the only way to know God's instructions is to be immersed in God's Word, the Bible. 

So the more we know God, the more we love Him, and the more we love Him, the more we will want to fear and obey Him. 

Which leads us to the second part of the verse, "and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." So by knowing more about Him, we will understand more about His ways and His purposes, especially in regards to our life and what He wants us to do with it!

So actually, fearing God benefits us more than we realize! He's not some selfish and mean God way up on a throne yelling at His people to fear Him! He is a kind and compassionate father who wants what's best for His children. Psalm 103:13 says,

 

As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; (NIV)

Quick story about my 4 year old daughter. The only time she really gets mad at me is when I tell her to do something she doesn't want to do. She says, (with arms crossed) "But mom I don't want to!", or my new favorite is when she gets the biggest frown her little face can muster and she says, "Mom. Look at my face. I not happy with you!" That's right, "I" not happy with you. We are working on her grammar. In the meantime, I try not to laugh because she is frowning so much that she can't even see out from under her brow. Last time she actually bonked her forehead on the table because she was concentrating so hard on frowning. (Pray for her. Or rather, pray for my husband and I!) 

Anyways back to the story. When she acts this way I hold my ground and tell her she needs to do what I say or she will be in trouble, and that usually does the trick. Being "in trouble" is enough for her and she begrudgingly does what I tell her. And since she's 4, she is over it in about 10 seconds and moving on to the next bout of trouble she can get herself into. 

But this little moment with her made me think about us and God. How many times do we cross our arms and fight Him on what He wants for us? Where did our fear go? Does God always have to dangle a consequence in front of us to get us to obey? And when we do finally obey are we doing it with a sour attitude? 

When I am trying to get my daughter to do something she doesn't want to do, it's always something that is good for her. Like taking more bites of dinner so she's not hungry during the night, or refraining from doing cartwheels from one side of the couch to other because she might break her neck, these are things that if she listened and heeded my advice she would be healthy and safe. If an earthly parent wants that for her child, how much more does our Heavenly Father want that for us?

Matthew 7:11 says this: So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. (NLT)

Psalm 84:11, For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. (NLT)

Proverbs 3:11-12, My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline,

and don’t be upset when he corrects you.

For the LORD corrects those he loves,

just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. (NLT)

So when you look at your life today, are you fearing the Lord as you should, or are you living life not really caring about what He says? These verses are there to encourage us, He delights in us! He wants to correct us because He LOVES us! I hope you can take this today and remember, fearing God is not a bad thing, it is a way to express love and experience the greatest Love you will ever know. Don't be a 4 year old with a frowny face and crossed arms. Open your arms wide and fear God the way He designed it: to bring you closer to Him and to live out the amazing plans He has for you, His precious child!