Word of the Week - Fear of God
The Lord favors those who fear Him. Those who wait for His lovingkindness. Psalm 147:11
Healthy Fear of God refers to fear in the context of respect, awe and submission. The fear of the Lord is a gift of the Holy Spirit and does not imply that we are to be afraid or fearful of God, since we know He is our heavenly Father who loves and forgives us. Just like a good earthly father, God has our best interest in mind and He desires us to have a joyful awareness of His power and grandeur and a grateful realization that only in Him do our hearts find true peace, fulfillment and eternal life. From a theological perspective, “fear of the Lord” is a convergence of awe, reverence, adoration, honor, worship, confidence, thankfulness, love and respect.Strength:“Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will a refuge” Proverb 14:26. Healthy Fear brings us strength. It is the feeling that allows us to experience risk, trust, dependency, collaboration, and ultimately, wisdom because it helps us realize our need for help. As we recognize our need for help, we find great opportunity. Fear can motivate you to reach out for help, risk your heart with your need. This can create a healthy degree of interdependence on God and others, which is truly the joy and purpose of life, to live in connection/dependence on Christ and community with others. We were not designed to do this life alone. Unfortunately, too many of us answer fear by silencing its voice. We run from risk, eliminate trust hide our dependency and become anxious and controlling not peace filled and collaborative.Protection: “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life turning a person from the snares of death” Proverb 14:27. Fear awakens us to danger. It is a visceral reaction to physical threat, but more important, because we are creatures of the heart, fear alerts us to emotional and spiritual danger. By listening to healthy fear, we recognize our value and prepare to prevent harm to ourselves and others. This caution affords us discernment, which gives us a sense of other’s intentions and recognition of our own. If our fear is grounded in God’s love it will serve us well as a healthy protections system as we navigate a fallen and complex world with many emotional, spiritual and emotional risk and dangers.Wisdom:“The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” Proverb 9:10. Wisdom begins with healthy fear and understanding. Discernment that comes by listening to our fear in the context of God’s word, helps us choose the wisest course of action, one that takes into account our propensity to harm others and values our potential to love. Fear offers us the chance to decide or discern which direction to go. When we move into life, we can risk truth and recognize potential harm. Or as survivors we can hide by pretending fear isn’t happening or attacking the potential harm. Seeing fear for what it is and acknowledging it offers new relational opportunities with God and people and initiates truth and Wisdom.Healthy fear is our friend because it helps us see God, others and ourselves in the proper context. From God’s perspective we as His sons and daughters are amazingly valued and tremendously vulnerable. So we need God and others to live healthy and purposeful lives. We don’t have enough knowledge, wisdom or power to succeed and thrive alone, yet we are completely responsible for all of our choices. Healthy fear helps us recognize that we are not enough and we need God and others.So let’s live with a healthy fear and reverence for God our Father while we walk by faith with confidence and courage because we know “That the Spirit God gives us does not make us timid or fearful, but gives us power, love and self-discipline”. 2 Tim 1:7-Duane