Fear, From Mom

Fear of God  reverence and respect

Isaiah 8:13  Make the Lord of Heaven's Armies holy in your life.  He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble.

Fear - human fear - to be startled, to tremble, panic, alarm, terror.

Proverbs 15:33  Fear of the Lord teaches wisdom; humility precedes honor.

The fear of the Lord is not a terror that He is against us, rather the fear of the Lord produces wise, healthy actions.

Joshua 1:9  This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Isaiah 41:10  Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

From me.

Look at the different definitions above.  One is positive, one is negative.  One brings peace, one brings turmoil and disquiet to our hearts.  Fear of the Lord is healthy.  It brings righteousness, right-ness, wisdom and peace to our lives. It keeps us on the wise path, and in right relationship with our heavenly Father.   Respect Him.  Honor Him. He is God.  He is almighty, all holy.  Fear of man, fear of circumstances, allowing these to rule us is paralyzing, compromising, and leads us away from God. It takes us out of His good plan for us and the center of His will for our lives.  It's no wonder the Bible tells us so many times not to fear. There are times when we feel afraid.  That's normal.  But I believe that when the Bible tells us to "fear not," it is asking us not to let our fears outweigh our faith and trust in the Lord.  We may feel fear, but it is not to control us....the Holy Spirit is to be in control and leading.

I have to admit, I struggle in this area.  Plenty of times I let the fear of man's opinion override the Holy Spirit's voice.  Also, I act like a spoiled brat with the Lord, rather than treating Him with the awe and reverence He deserves.  I'm guessing that the post from Mom is God's little reminder, that He wants me working on these things.  I am always so thankful for these convicting visits.  It's easy to say fear the Lord, don't fear man....but putting it into practice, well that is going to take some hard word and a lot of prayer.  That's okay though!

Romans 8:  31-39  31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Lord, teach us to fear only You.  Let it lead us to Your heart.  I know I don't want to fear what others think, fear what the future holds....And I want to treat You with the respect and honor You deserve. Help us to have healthy fear.  Let our lives reflect this reverence for You and You alone.

What do you fear today?  Talk to the Lord, and give it to Him...and give it to Him every time it comes to mind thereafter.  Spend time looking up verses on fear in the Bible.  Then pick one or two (or three or four...) to meditate on and make part of your thinking.