What in the world does it mean to fear God?

If I’m asking this question, and you have the same question, we can pretty much be sure of this: we probably don’t fear God rightly.

This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, emphasis added)

He said this to mankind, ‘The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding.’” (Job 28:28, emphasis added)

After I really began my walk with God in 2013, I began trying to memorize scripture, and these were a couple of the first verses I memorized. Admittedly though, I have gone 4 years without addressing what these verses really mean.

A good friend of mine recently pointed out to me that I often use the phrase “I’m scared to death to _____” or, “to do ______.” Fill in the blank with about 20 different things in my life lately that have been scaring me. Currently, I’m about to finish graduate school. A major part of our graduate education is our on campus assistantships. I have been truly fearful (of man) about succession planning. Who will replace me and what will come of all the work that my boss, the student leaders, and I have done? I’m “scared” it will all be for naught.

Realizing how much I feared man, I told the girls in my accountability group I was going to start figuring out this fear of God thing. Then, I came upon Exodus 1 a few days later…

V17: “But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live…”

V21: “And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.”

These women (Shiphrah and Puah) were so faithful to God to have such steadfast love. They didn’t have doubt in their hearts. They feared God’s judgement over their own lives — over imprisonment or worse — that would have befallen them if the king found out they lied and disobeyed him.

Most of the things I say I’m scared of will not result in a ruler or king putting me in prison or me losing my life. There are things I need to be honest about with those close to me. There are moments everyday, when I could testify to the glory of God to those near me. Yet I don’t do it because I am afraid they might go tell their friends how I’m that annoying girl always talking about Jesus, or I am afraid they will ask if I think they’re going to hell and my answer will drive them further from His love and grace. So yeah, doubt comes into my heart. Doubt is the frustratingly loyal sidekick of fear of man. I’ve realized recently I’m all too familiar with the fear of man, and not familiar enough with the fear of God.

We fear men so much because we fear God so little.” -William Gurnall

We also mistakenly misunderstand God’s love and jealousy for us to be the same as our love for one another or our jealousy of one another. It’s the same for fear — I have a hard time articulating the differences in my everyday fears and what it might mean to fear God.

I’ve been going straight to the Everlasting Father and asking Him to reveal what godly fear looks like, and kick out aspects of doubt that have no place in my heart. Understanding the fear of God requires guiding wisdom that comes from Him and Him alone, and we won’t fully understand what it means to fear the Lord until we’re in heaven with Him. As such, I don’t claim to know all the answers. But these are a few major things that I have come to understand about how to fear God:

  1. If we fear God, we obey Him. If we obey Him, it’s because God’s given us courage.

Knowledge of the fear of God is at the center of running the race that is set before us. It is about looking for His sovereignty in every conversation, every detail of my day. It is about setting aside every weight and every sin that clings so closely, and asking Him to cast it out. Because when I don’t desperately desire to cast out my sins, I am not fearing God in those encounters with the enemy.

A friend told me that she learned from the book of Joshua that courage is an aspect of obedience. In my journey to understand the fear of God, I discovered that the fear of man negatively affects our obedience to God, our relationships, and our courage to testify to the faith. Especially when the fear of sharing the hope with which we have with others. Fear of God also requires courage. When we learn what it means to fear God, we find it happens only by a desire to obey Him, even when that means braving the wilderness. (Deuteronomy 8:2-11)

  1. Biblical truths will take on a new meaning when we fully understand what it means to fear God.

I realized that when I fear God more than I fear man, these verses will stop being secretly scary to me when I read them:

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” (Eph. 4:25)

That by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil. 3:11, emphasis added)

My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Proverbs 3:11-12) (cited again in Hebrews 12:5b,6)

If you too don’t have a reverent fear of God but of man when reading these verses, rest in the truths that immediately precede each of these verses. We love and follow a God who “shares in our sufferings,” who “makes our paths straight,” “who renews us and created us in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

  1. A right fear of God helps us immeasurably in knowing and following Him for a lifetime.

We must figure out if our knowledge of the fear of God is pure by looking to the intent of our actions and asking where our heart lies. For instance, looking to Him more and more is a sure sign that we are coming to know more and more of His character. But doing this to check a box or keep up appearances is not a right fear of God. We must hear God asking us, “Are you coming with me?,” and respond wholeheartedly that we desire nothing more, because we know that this is our whole duty. The more we have experiences in which we fear God, the more we stand firm in the faith.

So let us have a holy and humble fear of God based on these truths: Matthew 26:53, Matthew 25:12, and Luke 6:46.

Next time you say or think, “I’m scared to _____,” ask yourself…

  • Does the fear of the Lord hold more pleasure to me than all else?
  • Do I fear earthly and temporary sacrifices more than His discipline? If so, how can I change that?
  • Did I wake up this morning taking intentional steps to obey Him throughout my day, to seize the moments of courage He brings to me?
  • Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” (Luke 24:38)

The last question is a genuine summary of the season I’m in right now. The doubts are running so deep in my heart as it relates to my impending graduation. I’m troubled by potential outcomes of which I have no control. Yet with the sword of the Spirit, and eyes set upward towards Christ, God is uprooting the doubts and teaching me to fear Him more than any earthly circumstance.  

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