Those of you who have been reading the past few issues are aware that we have been discussing how to overcome fear. I know that I have been made much more aware of how often fear, intimidation, and dread attempt to limit my life. As I was praying about this issue’s focus, God changed my attention from fear itself, to the fear of the Lord. It was one of those “aha” moments. As the Holy Spirit began to direct me to examine the fear of the Lord, I felt like I had missed the most obvious place to begin! However, we shall make up for that in this issue.

I began by reading the scriptures concerning the fear of the Lord. What a reminder of the blessings that come when we walk in the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 14:26-27 reminds us that in the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence and His children will have a place of refuge, and the fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to turn one away from the snares of death. Proverbs 15:16 declares better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure with trouble. Psalm 19:9 describes the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; Proverbs 10:27 confidently proclaims the fear of the Lord prolongs days. This sounds like this is a good addition to our life, right?

So what is the “Fear of the Lord?” And how do we learn to live our lives within its parameter? This fear is defined as the respect, reverence or awe of God. This is a godly emotion which allows us to come to an understanding of who God really is. It is incredible that we have the privilege, as His child, to actually know the Creator of the Universe; the one who maintains the stars in the sky and the seas within their borders; who set in motion the plan of history that includes you and me; the one who before you were born, formed you within your mother’s womb and knew the days of your life. (Psalm 139:13)

As a Sunday School teacher, I would take great pains to help my students understand that the fear of the Lord it is not to be confused with terror or torment. I wonder if, in my own desire to downplay the negative aspect of the word fear, I spent more time telling them what it wasn’t rather than giving them an understanding of what it is. Proverbs 9:10 tells us it is the beginning of wisdom and in Proverbs 1:7, the beginning of knowledge. This is a fear that is mixed with love and hope—it is not a dread, but filled with life and expectation that He who loves us will continue to help us grow in Him and His ways.

So how does maturing in walking in the fear of the Lord help us overcome the other kind of fear; the dreaded, knot in your stomach kind of fear? As we grow in our relationship with the Father, we begin understand that He is trustworthy. As we become more and more familiar with the people in scripture we recognize that those who replaced their natural fear with the fear of God were able to do exploits with His power and might. The David’s, the Esther’s and the host of others who chose to submit to God’s direction for their lives were challenged to step off from the safe into the realms of faith and they were able to do so because God was truly their God.

Accepting Jesus as our Savior is the beginning of the process. For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:9-10
I accepted Jesus in my heart and became a believer when I was 9 years old. It was a very real, but very private time for me. When we were young my father would play his guitar and sing for us the old hymn “In the Garden”. As he would come to the part “And He walks with me and talks with me, and tells me I am his own” I could feel my heart longing to have Him walk and talk with me. My father sang that song with such sincerity that I know that he had had that experience. I began to hunger for that same kind of relationship. As I grew older, God began to answer my prayers and began to work His plan so I would meet others that had the same heart cry. He placed me in a church in Seattle where many young people, as well as the leaders had that same passion.

As I began to grow in the knowledge of the fear of God in that church one thing became very clear. Walking in the fear of the Lord involved obedience. “Whatsoever He says to you do it” (John 2:5) became our heart cry and many of us longed to simply hear His voice and obey. It seemed so simple. When faced with fearfulness or hesitancy in fulfilling the assignment, we simply encouraged each other and prayed through until we received the grace we needed to obey. Fortifying ourselves with scriptures and faith we complied. This led to some amazing testimonies of God’s faithfulness and supply.

As we grew in our ability to hear Him speak to us, we also grew in our ability to respond. The culture of the church became such that we all were seeking Him to know His will and His ways. It became easier to obey, because everyone else was seeking to honor Him and serve Him in the same way. I liken it to a little child learning to walk, run and be a helper…mommy, can I help, what can I do? However, as we grow in the Lord, even as a child grows, we sometimes think we know better or have a clearer perspective and begin to make our own decisions, without taking the time to acknowledge Him in all our ways. His Word, His Ways and His Will blends in with our own thoughts and our own will and we stop looking toward Him so often. I believe, as a good Father, the Lord is aware of this season of growth in His children. How does He help us grow up? He allows the circumstances of life to overflow into our lives as trials, and we begin once again to be aware that we need Him and His ways. When the trials come we have a choice to make. Either we begin to defer to His Word, His Way and His Will or we choose to walk in our own wisdom. If we choose His Word, His Way and His Will we are choosing to walk in respect and reverence Him as God. If we choose not to, then we are in essence, disrespecting Him. We need to re-new our commitment to obedience, if we discover we have wandered from that path.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. Psalm 111:10
It is the doing of His commandments that cause us to grow in the fear of the Lord. It is coming to a place of trust. A place where we know that our loving Heavenly Father always has our best interest in mind when He asks us to step out into what would naturally be challenging to us.

“The remarkable thing about fearing God,” wrote Oswald Chambers, “is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” What a wonderful measuring rod to see if we are walking in the fear of the Lord.

Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD. Psalms 34:11 As we choose as leaders to apply this scripture to our lives, we can influence the next generation. As my life was changed by being around people who had a heart to discover God’s Word, Way and Will so can we impact our children and the young ones in His ways. What a delight it is to watch this being instilled in children. As anything, it is much more readily caught than simply taught. So our first decision must be to have this established in our own hearts. After all, we can’t teach what we haven’t learned.

Teaching the fear of the Lord to our children must be done in the balance of His grace, love and an understanding in our own heart that He is God and He is worthy to be served. Many of His people find themselves as Moses and the children of Israel: When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the horn, and when they saw the lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, “You tell us what God says, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us. If he does, we will die!” “Don’t be afraid,” Moses said, “for God has come in this way to show you his awesome power. From now on, let your fear of him keep you from sinning!” (Exodus 20:18-20) Let’s determine to fear Him, follow Him and fellowship with Him.

Father, I ask you refresh my sisters in the joy of delighting to do your will. I thank you for revealing yourself to them in every area of their lives. Forgive us for the times we have chosen our own way, our own will instead of yours. I thank you for your grace, forgiveness and mercy as we seek to be women who choose your way over our way. Unite my heart to fear your name (Psalm 86:11)
In Jesus name, Amen

Written by: Martha Rodman