Christian Family Services Ministry

9-19-2018 – A Word to the Wise: FEAR OF THE LORD

Acquisition of the fear of the Lord might be compared with putting on a heavy coat in mid-winter or an armored vest worn by a police officer or combat soldier. Fear of the Lord is a protective coat that protects us from evil and dangerous temptations.

The Scriptures tell us that understanding the fear of the Lord and how it is acquired is one of the most profitable endeavors that man can undertake. When reverence and respect are terms used in the sense that recognizes the tremendous power of God, then they most certainly become good synonyms for the Greek and Hebrew words that describe the experience that one is to have before God Almighty.

Perhaps the following experience from the life of Isaiah gives us a more accurate view of reverence.

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’). Isaiah 6:1-6

Oh yes. I strongly suspect that this experience defines reverence rather nicely, particularly when the earthquake occurred. Any idea what it would be like to experience a force ten earthquakes? I do imagine the experience would put the fear of God in you. It most certainly has others.

But we do not like thinking of God as one to be feared. We wish to use words like love, kindness, and gentleness to describe what we feel, and who He is. If we see reverence as a bit of patriotism as when one salutes the flag at the playing of the national anthem, then we miss the point.

I doubt that anyone near Mount St. Helens, when it exploded with a force of 27,000 atom bombs, felt anything but pure terror. One can hardly sit in a cellar while an F-5 tornado sweeps away everything in its path without shuttering—so it is with the reverence or fear before God. No matter how righteous one may be. Even Moses and Daniel quaked with fear before the living God.

So how does one learn how to fear God? Fear of the Lord is grounded in laws, ordinances, and statutes. Fundamentally, fear of God is rooted in authority. This is significant when we see how difficult it is for some to fear God. They might love, adore, believe, trust, but somehow they find it difficult to fear. That is because we tend to be a rebellious people. Rebellion is against authority, and fear of God is fear of authority. Authority is established by God

Fear of the holy one is not something that is acquired accidentally, or inborn in the nature of a person. Teaching is a must.

Acquisition of the fear of the Lord is essential to our warfare against the authority and power of Satan. The fear of the Lord defends against destruction by the enemy. It protects the heart by humility and the spirit by meekness.

Studying the fear of the Lord is in itself protective and beneficial. One of the assignments I use with clients who suffer from panic attacks is founded in studying the fear of the Lord. Any time we fear anything, some of the physiological experiences attending the fear may be shortness of breath, dizziness, faintness, smothering sensation, palpitations, trembling, shaking, sweating, choking, nausea, numbness, discomfort in the chest and other similar symptoms. These symptoms are experienced in varying degrees of intensity, depending on the object which we fear. Sometimes only one symptom may be present, at other times several.

Now the unique thing about these symptoms is that as one begins to read, write, or study the passages on the fear of the Lord, the symptoms begin to abate. The books of Psalms and Proverbs are filled with passages which instruct in the acquiring this holy fear.

Another way of expressing this is that if we fear anything other than God, we experience a physical discomfort. Fear of the Lord brings a sense of peace and well-being even in the midst of chaos.