Seed for the Harvest
The greatest fear

People fear many things these days. People fear cancer, crime, financial ruin, and the loss of liberty. There are other fears that keep us worrying, too — like the fear of other people.

One fear we do not have much of is the fear of God – and that’s too bad. The fear of God is the greatest fear – as in the best – that any people can possess. Because it’s the fear of God that drives out all other fears, and leads us to be secure in Him.

The scarcity of godly fear these days is not surprising. The view of God that’s most prevalent has Him as so benign, tame, and watered down that it makes Him not only hard to fear, but hard to even respect.

But what if God is more than what we have made Him to be? What if He is more than just our cheerleader and friend? What if He really is as the Bible presents Him? What if He is holy, just, and angry with the wicked every day (Ps.7:11)?

More particularly, what if God really is in control of all things, and sees fit to withdraw His blessing when we displease Him? What if our present troubles have arisen because we have in fact offended Him? This would make Him worthy of fear, wouldn’t it?

In these days of confusion and distress it would do us well to consider and recover the fear of God. After all, what has our “No Fear” attitude toward God gotten us. Has it made us a more responsible, righteous, prosperous, secure, content, and happy? No, actually, it has brought about just the opposite.

When we look to the Bible we see that this is just what we should expect when we forsake the fear of God.

The Bible tells us that godly fear is really the starting point for a life of blessing when it says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. . .” (Pr.1:7). To give up this fear leads to folly.

Because God continually calls us to fear Him, He eventually turns away from those who will not hear Him. He laughs at their calamity and mocks when their dread comes because they “did not choose the fear of the Lord” (Pr.1:29).

On the other hand, those who listen to Him live securely (Pr.1:33). His eye is on those who fear Him (Ps.33:18). The angel of the Lord encamps around them and rescues them (Ps.34:7).

In the face of our fears there are many things we may try to avert them, but only one thing will do – recover the fear of the Lord. Any other measure is a fool’s errand.

“Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28).

Give us, O Lord, the fear of You – the only fear that leads to life.

Questions or comments? Email davidjbostromATgmail.com or visit his blog at dbostrom.wordpress.com.

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