Fear of God? What does this mean?

This is a subject that I have become increasingly interested in over the past few years.  When I was growing up as a preacher’s kid I heard this phrase quite a bit.  I distinctly remember saying, “I don’t fear God, He is my friend. . .why would I fear God?”  This was coming from a teen aged boy who never really read the Bible.  Sure, I could fake a surface conversation just from the sheer osmosis of being around the church all my life.  I thought the phrase meant to be afraid of God like being afraid of the boogey man, scared of God. 

Not coincidently, when I started to really read the Word of God I started to run into this phrase all over the place.  Then I ran into Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of knowledge, [But] fools despise wisdom and instruction.  I suddenly flashed back to my youth and felt embarrassed for what I used to say.  There have been plenty of moments while reading the Word that it hits me right between the eyes and I kind of just say “man, I am such an idiot!”  This was one of those moments.  So I started to look further into this concept.  Surely, I wasn’t as dumb and naive as I felt.  So I read a little further in Proverbs 1 and ran into verses 27-33 When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you.  “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.  Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, They would have none of my counsel [And] despised my every rebuke.  Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them;  But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”  So to summarize so far, I am learning that if I have the fear of the Lord I will begin to gain knowledge.  In turn, I will live a life that will be safe and secure without the fear of evil.  Sounds good to me, sign me up.

The Hebrew word used for fear in these verses is yir’ah, which means:  1) fear, terror, fearing a) fear, terror b) awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear) c) fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety d) revered.  There are other variation of Hebrew or Greek used, but they all basically say the same thing as this definition.  Many times when you DO hear the fear of God mentioned from the pulpit it is most likely mentioned in the reverence aspect.  Which I agree, that is important.  But are we really only getting part of the meaning?  I am not here to convince you what it means, I am here to convince you to search out what it means.

After feeling a little silly for my young man thoughts, I began to feel angry.  I started to think about how the Lord God is being painted in today’s church.  On television, and the churches that I had attended or visited  seem to lack this message.  Indeed, God’s love is being preached.  I am thankful for God’s love, believe me!  However, how are we to grow in our understanding and relationship with our Father?  Many Christian’s relationship with God is the following – God loves me, He forgives me, I love Him, I cannot wait to go to heaven.  And that’s it!!  How does that foster a deeper relationship? 

Think about how fear plays into your everyday life.  Does it change the way you behave?  Does it make you think differently about certain situations?  A simple example for me happens on a regular basis.  I am cruising along at 65 miles per hour when I suddenly spot a cop hanging out behind a bridge ready to nab a speedster.  Without even thinking, in cat like reflexes my right foot goes from the gas pedal to the brake.  My thoughts and emotions immediately go to “please don’t stop me, please don’t stop me, please don’t stop me – I was only 5 mph over the speed limit.”  Every time this happens my driving behavior changes for awhile.  Then before you know I am back to my old ways just hoping not to get caught.  This example has many parallels for my life.

Personally, fear has always been a great motivator for me all my life.  I was fearful of not being liked, so I was funny.  I was fearful of being stupid, so I studied.  I was fearful of failure in general, so I was anal retentive (no wise cracks (pardon the pun) from the peanut gallery) which is fairly hard to do for an abstract-random kind of guy.  I think fear gets a bad rap.  Why is motivation from fear so wrong?

Proverbs 2:1-5 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, [And] apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, [And] lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as [for] hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.  Wowsers!! God is telling me that if I study his Word, hold his commands in high regard, cry out for discernment, seek as though I am looking for hidden treasures (have you ever lost something of major value?  Do you remember how hard you looked and for how long?  Have you ever done that with the Word and the Lord?  Think about it.) THEN I will understand the fear of the Lord.  Sure seems like a lot of hard work.  Can’t I just love you Lord and call it a day?  It is not like my salvation is dependent upon it right?  Acts 13:26 Men [and] brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent.  

I will leave you with one final thought.  Jude 1:22-23 And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.  Please do take a moment to read all of Jude, it is a real treat and only one chapter but it sure does pack a wallop.  I wonder what “but others save with fear” means?

It sure looks to me that if we desire a deeper relationship with our Father then we need to develop a fear of God.  The Bible tells us how to do it.  It is not easy.  Do you want God on your terms, or His terms?  He is pretty specific what His terms are.  You can choose His terms or reject His terms.  If you plan to get on the battlefield you need to start now, today!  Don’t put it off any longer.  Get on your knees and get in the Word.  Seek Him out like a precious treasure, I challenge you to try it and see what happens.  What would happen if you spent at least an hour a day in prayer and studying the Bible for the next week?

Your brother and warrior in Christ,

Ty Adams

If you want to know when changes take place at The Ultimate Competition Blog, feel free to subscribe and you will be notified by email.  Scroll to the top and enter your email address and then click on the “Sign Me Up” button to the left to Get Involved!