Fearing God

Revelation 14:6-7

Fear is such a small word, it only has four letters, and yet fear can do amazing things to a person, a family, a business, a church, and even to a nation.  In my own life fear of what others would think made me a follower of the pack, and when I had the desire to write, it was fear that said, “you do not have the skills and you sure do not spell or have any knowledge of grammar, and no one is interested in what you might say.”  I’ve seen fear of a problem in a family, steal all the joy from that home, and they cut off the outside world, an example is, fearing that someone will find out that mom or dad is an alcoholic.   Many businesses never meet there growth, and even fail because they are too fearful to step out and be the trendsetter, there is always a chance it will not work, or it will cost too much to be the leader.  Churches often fail because of the fear of change!  And history has shown us the cost that fear plays on nations, a good example is England in World War 11, and the cost of not confronting Hitler.

What is fear?  How do we define it?  Fear: an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.  All of these words are the fingers of fear; terror, fright, fearfulness, horror, alarm, panic, agitation, , dismay, distress, anxiety, worry, uneasiness, apprehension, nervousness, and foreboding.  It seems very clear that fear can be a bad thing to have in your life, and that a wise person would not let fear control them.

Today’s Scripture is about fearing God; “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe, and language and people.  And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who make heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”  I am sure that many of you will be quick to tell me that the Scripture is not talking about any of the adjectives listed above, but it is about a reverence and awe of God.  I grew up with a dad, who loved me, but he was the supreme authority in our home, and he made the laws, his laws were not open to my own interpretation.  I always had a choice, I could live in harmony with dad’s laws or I could break his laws and suffer dad’s wrath.  I loved my dad, but I lived in fear of the consequences of breaking his laws, because often I was a lawbreaker, and dad was faithful to the laws he had established.  Micah 6:8, is a verse I have put to memory, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?  If you’re anything like me you need guidelines, my dad knew he wanted me to grow up worthy of his name, he also lived under the guidelines that God had handed down in his instruction book, how to live life on planet earth, we call it the Bible.

Isaiah the prophet of God said, “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.” (Isaiah 8:13)  I have heard foolish people state, “that the Old Testament was the mean old God, but today we live in grace and love.  God is the same today as He was yesterday; God is not like a man, God, does not change.  Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”   The apostle Peter gives us some great advice in 1 Peter 1:17, “Since, you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.” 

My dad acted with fairness most of the time in his keeping the laws of his kingdom, but God is always just, always loving, always faithful to Himself, and we who are in Christ should obey out of love and not fear, but this I know, God will always be true to His character.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice