Lately God has been teaching me a lot about fear, and about its connection to the "Fear of the Lord". I hope that this is as helpful to you in your walk with God as it is with mine.
God bless.
Scripturally, What is So Wrong With Fear?
Fear shares it’s equivalents with murder, sorcery, whore mongering, the abominable, idolaters, and even disbelief! As we can see in Revelation 21:7-8, “He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, [cowardly] and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”. Therefore, those that are paralyzed by fear have their place among murderers, whoremongers and idolaters. Have we ever thought of ourselves as being addicted to fear like it would be to porn or murder? In the Bible, there is no distinction in severity between those addictions. I am not speaking of merely the feeling of fear. Rather I am speaking of a fear that paralyzes us from following our Lord regardless of whether or not we see the paralysis as being significant.
Fear can paralyze someone to a point where they refuse to obey our Lord and Saviour. I admittantly have fallen under this paralysis many times. Despite this, the desire to serve my Lord was still there! At this point, my motives were right, but I did not follow through with what God was telling me to do. I have heard that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This can be true because, when we are paralyzed with fear, intentions are all we have. Our faith is not being carried out.
We are Stewards of Even Ourselves
In addition to faith, it is imperative that we obey and trust our Lord; otherwise our faith is useless (James 2:17). Jesus speaks of obedience in the parable of the talents in Luke 19:11-27. The unfaithful servant says, “Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid”. That servant was paralyzed by fear. He allowed fear to be his master rather than God. The “talent” or “pound” refers to everything that God has given us to be stewards of. These include our abilities, time, and resources. The unfaithful servant had abilities, time and resources from God. God called that servant (as he has called all of us) to use what he had in obedience to God’s will. Everything that we have, we have because God has given them to us. Everything we have, and even our own selves belong to God. Who are we to misuse our Lord’s resources by being cowards? We are then no better than that unfaithful servant.
When Jesus Says “Believe” What Does That Entail?
The word “belief” in the Bible also connotes obedience and follow-though to that belief. Therefore, if we believe, we will obey. If we do not obey Christ, then we do not believe Christ. Paralyzing fear, as we have heard, prevents this obedience, making us no better than the unfaithful servant in the book of Luke and the coward in Revelation; both of whom were condemned despite being God’s “servants”.
Where Does Trust Come In?
In reference to Proverbs 29:25, which says “The fear of man brings a snare: but whoso putts his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” I found a blog by
“This text may be understood in the broad sense-suffering from cowardice in general, or in the specific sense-fearful of some other human being. Fear that paralyzes or causes anguish and worry can absolutely be a snare. Many people are trapped by various situations in life because of fear. They are afraid to move out or take a risk. What is the solution? The answer: to trust the Lord … The wrong reaction to fear can be so harmful that one can lose salvation as a result. Consider this: ‘He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, [cowardly] and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death’ (Rev. 21:7-8).”
Fear is a sign of distrust to our God whether it is internal or external. I believe that in order for us to follow God fearlessly we would need to trust our Lord unconditionally. The only thing that we have any right to fear is our Lord who makes everything pale in comparison. This does not mean that we tremble under our Lord in a life defined and controlled by fear because 1 John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love”.
Trust God with What???
We are meant to trust God with everything. We should recognize that God is not subject to time; time is a created thing. Therefore he can see our whole lives from its beginning to its end. He knows what we will go through and what we will experience before it happens. If we really have the “Fear of the Lord” (not just a one time thing) than we will have no reason to fear anything because God is in control and sovereign to all that exists. With the fear of the Lord we have no need to know why certain hardships are happening to us; rather, we can rest in our trust of God that no-matter what happens, God is in control and will work everything out for his good. If we are in a car accident, we can praise God because we realize that everything is in his hands. We trust him with those things that his purposes and not our own will come out of this. We can learn to see God in it and be excited to see what God will do next no-matter what it is! This is trusting in the Lord. He will supply to us based on his own perfect timing and his own perfect way, which we have no reason to doubt.
God’s Punishment and Guilt
Although fear is not what defines our relationship with God, we had better be fearful when we walk away from God because he will punish us. How can we respect and revere who God is if there is no consequence for disrespecting and disobeying him? Here is a critical distinction: as long as we are following God we do not need to be afraid of him; however, when we walk away from God, we will be punished. Those who have the “fear of God” will be with God not because they are afraid of him. However, they will realize that God does punish, correct and encourage. They will also realize that the only time when they aught to be afraid of God is when they intentionally live a life in rebellion to him.
I just thought that I would point out that when it comes to sin, there is a difference between Godly guilt and worldly guilt. Godly guilt always leads us to God and to repentance. Worldly guilt is not of God and leads only to our destruction.
How can the “Fear of the Lord” and “Perfect Love” Co-exist?
Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction.” This fear in Proverbs must refer to a reverence and awe for God; we recognize him for who he is, and for what place he has in our lives. We see him as someone whom we respect incredibly, and whom we hang off of every word he speaks. We regard him as much as possible for who he is. This “fear” brings us closer to God, where a relationship defined by worldly fear is no relationship at all. God does not want us to merely follow him because he can beat the crap out of us. Rather, he wants us to recognize him for who he is, and to treat him as such; that we put him into the rightful place in our lives: as number one and second to no-one and no thing. I would argue that since this fear is the beginning of wisdom, we need this fear in order to enter into a relationship with God; a relationship not defined by worldly fear but rather a fear that brings us closer to God where a loving relationship can thrive.
When one is paralyzed by fear, one shows that there is a distrust or anticipation of some sort of punishment in his or her reality (1 John 4:18). When we relate paralyzing fear to following God’s will, we can see that there is no other explanation for the fear other than that we do not trust our Lord. This is so because if we revere God for who he is, that is, we realize that nothing exists that is outside of his power, we have no reason to fear anything on this earth. If we fear things of this earth, we do not trust in God’s sovereignty, and thus we do not trust in God for who he is. Paralyzing fear is therefore the distrust of our Lord as we follow His will. Those who are paralyzed by fear are not living in the “fear of the Lord” nor have they accepted perfect love, “for God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).
I Believe that you will find the following distinctions very helpful in defining the “fear of God” and “be afraid” in the Old Testament:
In Exodus 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Here Moses differentiated between the “fear of God” and worldly fear. This passage tells us to not be afraid of God but rather have the fear of God. Why would there be a differentiation? Because being afraid of God, and the fear of God are different.
The following is taken from Exodus 20:20…
Definitions:
Hebrew: ‘yare' is translated “Be afraid” in the Old Testament; Strong’s 3372. Short definition: “Affright”
English: ‘Affright’:
To arouse fear in; terrify
1. Great fear; terror.
2. A cause of terror.
Hebrew ‘yirah’ is translated “fear” in “fear of God” in the Old Testament; Strong’s 3374. Short definition: “fear”
English: ‘Fear’: (READ NUMBER 4)
noun
1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
2. a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: an abnormal fear of heights.
3. concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone's safety.
4. reverential awe, especially toward God: the fear of God. Synonyms: awe, respect, reverence, veneration.
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fear)
There is a difference between being terrified for one’s safety, “be afraid” which is rooted in self-preservation (and is thus not of God, but rather, making one’s self god), and fearing someone. All the definitions of “fear” up to number four are towards self preservation; number four is the only definition that is towards another, in respect and reverence. In other words, "the fear of the Lord" is not fear as we know fear in our own culture. If we are afraid of God we still fear for our safely. A selfless fear; a fear that does not concern itself with our own well being is the type of fear in the “fear of the Lord”. To say that one has to be terrified of God is to say that we ought to put ourselves first before God. This is because we have made our own wellbeing more important to us than our own Father-God. When God sees us now, he no longer sees sin because Jesus has covered us with his righteousness (Romans 3:20-22, Romans 10:3-5, Philippians 1:10-12). When God sees us, he sees Jesus (as long as we are not living in rebellion). The “fear” (in this case, respect, reverence and awe) of the Lord is towards God, and is not contingent on the idea of our own self preservation. Let us respect and revere our Lord and not put ourselves first in regards to him.
In conclusion, we can see that if we trust God with everything, no-matter what trials and tribulations we face, fear dissolves. God has shown us what the fear of the Lord is, and what it is not. We can see how having respect, reverence and awe for our Lord, coupled with unwavering and unconditional trust (which comes from the former if it is true in our lives) can equip us to boldly go wherever God sends us (2 Peter 1:3, John 3:21). In this, God enables us to do anything and everything for him without any fear for our own safety. The “fear” of the Lord is not terror. Rather, as we have seen, perfect love casts out fear. The fear casted out includes this terror (1 John 4:18). The Bible has shown us how God does not want us to be driven and defined by terror, but rather a loving relationship with our Lord (Philippians 3:8-10). God is so amazing! And he supplies us with the tools for his will. All we need to do is rely on God and he will equip us with even these things if we let him. That is my prayer for humanity; that they make God first, and regard not themselves as god in either word or deed. This prayer is not only for non-believers but for self professing Christians who have still not submitted to our Lord as God in their lives. Amen.
