When you submit to God, you don’t have to be afraid of anything because He becomes your ‘refuge and strength’ (Psalm 46:1). Fearing God doesn’t mean being afraid He’s going to hurt you. He’s a good Father. ‘The fear of the Lord’ just means you’re in awe of His goodness, strength, and beauty. And because of that you’re naturally inclined to follow His directions and recognise His authority in all things. Most of us go through a phase where we develop the kind of voice that says, ‘Nobody’s going to tell me what to do.’ We kick back against unearned authority. But the Bible says, ‘In the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord there is strong confidence.’ Why does it say that? Because God’s earned the authority He has. It’s an authority born of gentleness and love, not force and terror. And that’s the kind of authority that leads to a reverent and worshipful fear. It means you’ll do what God says to do, and your confidence and trust in Him will continue to grow. And you’ll notice something else that’s important: the more awe you have of God, the more careful and courteous you’ll be with others. That’s because you know you’re accountable to God for your actions, and you see that other people are just as valuable to Him as you are. Solomon writes, ‘Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments… this is the duty of all mankind’ (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV).
What now?
Got any natural wonders nearby? It doesn’t have to be the Grand Canyon, but even if it’s just a patch of wild countryside or the sea, find your way there and try to just experience ‘awe’ for a bit.
