| The Right Kind of Fear |
The Right Kind of Fear
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding
have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
— Psalm 111:10
Even the most committed believer has those moments when fear or
worry can kick in. Anxiety can overtake us. Maybe we are concerned
about our future, or maybe we are discouraged about some things we
have done or failures we've experienced.
But far too often, we are afraid of the wrong things in life, and we are not
afraid of the right things or the right One. Many people don't fear God.
Yet the Bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
To fear God doesn't mean that we must cower in terror before Him.
Rather, the fear of God has been properly defined as a wholesome
dread of displeasing Him. So if I have sinned, my fear should not be
based on the anticipation of what God will do to me, but on what I have
done to displease Him. That is what it is to fear the Lord. It is to love the
Lord so much that you don't want to sin against Him.
We need to fear God. The remarkable thing is that when you fear God,
you fear nothing else. On the other hand, if you do not fear God, then
you fear everything else.
David said, "The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be
afraid?" (Psalm 27:1). Only the person who can say, "The Lord is the
strength of my life" can then say, "Of whom shall I be afraid?"
Maybe you feel that your life has been a failure, or maybe you are
discouraged about something or afraid of something. If you're gripped
by fear and worry today, then let the Lord be the strength of your life.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding
have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.
— Psalm 111:10
Even the most committed believer has those moments when fear or
worry can kick in. Anxiety can overtake us. Maybe we are concerned
about our future, or maybe we are discouraged about some things we
have done or failures we've experienced.
But far too often, we are afraid of the wrong things in life, and we are not
afraid of the right things or the right One. Many people don't fear God.
Yet the Bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
To fear God doesn't mean that we must cower in terror before Him.
Rather, the fear of God has been properly defined as a wholesome
dread of displeasing Him. So if I have sinned, my fear should not be
based on the anticipation of what God will do to me, but on what I have
done to displease Him. That is what it is to fear the Lord. It is to love the
Lord so much that you don't want to sin against Him.
We need to fear God. The remarkable thing is that when you fear God,
you fear nothing else. On the other hand, if you do not fear God, then
you fear everything else.
David said, "The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be
afraid?" (Psalm 27:1). Only the person who can say, "The Lord is the
strength of my life" can then say, "Of whom shall I be afraid?"
Maybe you feel that your life has been a failure, or maybe you are
discouraged about something or afraid of something. If you're gripped
by fear and worry today, then let the Lord be the strength of your life.
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |