I have to admit that I have always been confused by the idea of fearing the Lord. Throughout scripture we are constantly told to both fear the Lord and to draw near. Proverbs 19:23 tells us that "fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rest satisfied." How does one fear something yet find rest in it at the same time. Isaiah 41:10 assures us not to fear or be dismayed, for the Lord is our God. He will strengthen us, help us, and uphold us with His righteous hand. It was not until I heard John Piper use the following passage that I understand how we both fear God and draw nearer to him.
"Now when all the people saw the thunder and lighting and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, 'You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die." Moses said to the people, 'Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.'" Exodus 20:18-20Moses essentially says to Israel, Do not fear the Lord and run from Him, but rather draw nearer to Him in your fear so that you may not fall into the temptation of sin. Basically, do not run in fear of who He is, but rather draw nearer to Him because of it. The wrath of God is far fiercer for those who run from Him, than those who draw near. Take my son Micah for example. It is much wiser for him to be near me when we are in a store so that he does not get into something he shouldn't, than it is for him to run on his own. The later will lead to him doing something disobedient and being punished, rather than remaining near me and avoiding the disobedience and punishment all together. God gives us a wonderful opportunity through Christ to commune with Him and to know his ways. The doxology at the end of the letter of Jude, in my opinion, is one of the greatest of the New Testament. It says, "Now to him, who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever." The one who is able to keep us from stumbling, by drawing us near, is the one who has all dominion and authority before time and now and forever. What joy there is in fearing the Lord! May I draw nearer to him each day, because my fear of Him is greater than that of this earth.
"There are always temptations to allure us away from the fear of God: temptations to fear financial insecurity more than we fear God, to fear rejection by our peers more than we fear God, to fear the loss of time spent in good deeds more than we fear God." -John Piper A Woman Who Fears the Lord Is to Be Praised
Perhaps many of my decisions in life would be different if I was always drawing nearer to the truths that are in God's Word, rather than spending time on things that are driven out of fear for earthly securities. I have been challenged today with this thought...
So I end with this, "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleans ourselves from every defilement of the body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 7:1
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