Fear of God
The Fear of God, one thing I want us to understand off the bat is that this isn’t your typical “hide and run” type of fear. It doesn’t make you shy away from God because you think He is dangerous and out to hurt you — especially since we know that is the opposite of His intentions (Jeremiah 29:11). This type of fear is one rooted in reverence and awe. It is a feeling that comes with having such respect for who we know God to be. When you fear God it means that you admire Him and His will so much that you do everything to please Him. Your life becomes a way to glorify Him.
Reverence is defined as a deep respect. It is the kind of respect that keeps you from doing the wrong things because you are so determined to make the person feel revered and respected. Your life’s purpose becomes centered around the person whom you ‘fear’ in this sense.
Awe goes a bit deeper. It is defined as the feeling of reverential (reverence!!!) respect mixed with fear and wonder. Fear because honestly, there is a lot we do not know about God, He is soooo much bigger than us and that can be scary and hard to comprehend. Wonder stems from the same idea, so much of God is unknown that you can’t help but want to figure it out.
As I said before, the fear of the Lord is rooted in reverence and awe. This allows you to freely worship Him because you acknowledge His power, His greatness, and that He is the only One worthy of all our worship.
Fearing God is beneficial to us because we learn to worship God in spirit and in truth. We learn to put aside the pretenses and the fake performances when worshiping. For me, the fear of the Lord produces an overwhelming feeling of gratitude that I pour into my worship. I am able to worship the Lord because I know exactly what He could have done with a sinner like me, but He has decided to love me instead, He decided to let His Son die for me instead.
When we learn to fear God, we avoid trying to do things our own way, in turn keeping ourselves from getting drawn in by the world. Fearing God limits the chances that we will do things that oppose His Will, which keeps us from sin, which can separate us from Him. We begin to hate sin because of how it hurts God. We are more cautious and specific about the things we do, say, and think on a daily basis and consider the consequences of our actions on a more spiritual level. As the Bible tells us, “reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.” (Psalm 19:9) In short, the Fear of God cleans us from the inside out. Fearing the Lord also sets us up to put our trust in Him. (Psalm 115:11) So we can assume that a fear of the Lord would also mean we start to have more confidence and hope in God, which can further strengthen our faith.
The bible also tells us that God’s mercy rests upon the people who fear Him, and in true God fashion, this mercy is passed "from generation to generation.” (Luke 1:50) In treating God reverently and with awe, we are shown mercy, because we are proving that we see just how great He is. I see it like this: having a true genuine fear of the Lord means you know how much wrath He is holding back from us, and how much of it we deserve — yet NONE of it is directed toward us. And as such, you cannot help but offer up all your praise, your worship, your adoration, all of it — to the one who has forgiven you. And in return, He showers us with His mercy.
