I feel that we have moved past the phrase, "for fear of the Lord". I think most of us focus the following, "God is LOVE! God is merciful! God is grace!". Why would we need to fear the Lord if He is in fact all of these things?!?!
Children used to have a certain fear of their parents. That word "FEAR". It may be the single word that has put us in the position that we are in today. For that the word fear, used to also mean respect. When our parents tried to teach us something important, they would expect us to listen. It's how children earned the trust of their parents, but if we disobeyed, we would be punished. (Usually a spanking of some sort.) We feared the punishment! But without the punishment, we wouldn't grow the respect for our parents. I understand that we are trying to do better as people, and we trying to not raise traumatized children. So how do we teach respect then?
How many of you were raised this way? How did it affect you? The question now is, what could God possibly do to me? How would God punish me? Well, let me tell you, it's not going to be an instant spanking!!
Proverbs 28:14 says, "Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble."
Psalms 34:7 says, "For the angel of the Lord is a guard; He surrounds and defends all who fear Him."
And Psalms 85:9 says, "Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, so our land will be filled with His glory!"
The fear comes from, God being fully capable of sending us to the fiery lakes of hell. When we fear/respect the Lord and follow His commandments, then there is no reason to live in fear. God doesn't want you to live in fear! But He does want you to respect what He is capable of.
For Isaiah 41:10 says, "Do not 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."
So YES- God our Father is love! God our Father is merciful! God our Father is Grace! In the same way all parents should be. We are to respect our God the Father! We are to follow HIs rules! We are to be home before His curfew! And when He is teaching us a lesson, we are to listen, learn, and obey. Otherwise- just like every other aspect in life, there will be consequences. A lifetime of refusal will lead to the lake of fire.
We may need to find a new word for this type of fear, because it is not the same as the fear of a boogey man, or monsters under the bed!
Until next time:
Numbers 6:24-26
24. May the Lord bless you and protect you.
25. May the Lord smile upon you and be gracious to you.
26. May the Lord show you HIs favor and give you His peace.
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