THE FEAR OF THE LORD

Take a second and think back to your biggest fear as a child (or maybe it still is your biggest fear today.) Look past the silly ones like being left in the front of the grocery line while your mom goes and grabs one more item. Instead, pick the one that kept you up at night. Think about that fear that instantly made you grab your covers and pull them over your head. It compelled you to keep a nightlight on and hide a baseball bat next to your bed. Intruders? The dark? Clowns? Death? All of these fears have a negative connotation to them. They are scary and you wish they didn’t exist. Maybe yours looks a little more like this today… Failure? Financial issues? Laziness? Not being good enough? Not feeling loved? Death? 

No matter what your biggest fear is, I think we can all agree that fear never seems like it is a good thing, but today I want to share a fear that transforms life. A healthy fear that is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. A fear that is necessary if you truly want to live. 

If you are turned away by that last sentence, I urge you to keep reading. What bad can you get from finishing this blog? If you don’t agree with me by the end, no harm done. Well, I wouldn’t say no harm, because what I’m about to talk about is a matter of life and death. If you are even a little afraid of death, I plead with you to keep reading. I don’t have all the answers, but I personally know someone that does, and I want everyone to get to know Him. 

I’m sure you have heard someone say God-fearing before. Maybe a pastor or teacher. Could have been a friend, or maybe you just saw it for the first time on this blog. Being fearful of God sounds negative since fear is gloomy, and the Bible tells us numerous times “do not fear.” As well, the Word shows us that God is loving; He is actually love itself. So how can we fear a loving God and why are we supposed to? 

Even as a Christian, or someone that believes in God, fearing the Lord is still a confusing topic. Sunday school taught me that God is my Heavenly Father, that He loves me perfectly, and that God wants to protect and bless me. What church and youth groups and my childhood left out was that we are called to fear God. So what the heck does that even mean? If you do have a “religious” background you’ve probably heard people explain the fear of the Lord as reverence or respect towards Him, but I believe that we shouldn’t minimize the importance of this simple phrase.

Okay, getting to the point…We are going to die at some point, right? That's not a question, that is a fact. However, here is the million dollar question: where do we go after we die? This is a question everyone needs to ponder in their life because it should determine how we live. I think that is why it is so hard to believe in Heaven, because then you also have to believe in hell. Trust me, I get it. Hell is scary. It is so terrifying that it should make you question why in the world you are here. Hell is so unbelievably frightening that it compels me to write this blog because I don’t want anyone to experience it.

Matthew 10:28 says, “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Fearing God is not only being dumbfounded in awe because He is so great, but it is also knowing that He is beyond powerful. He has the authority to send your soul to Heaven or Hell. 

Woah. I know. Reallyyyyy deep. But if we don’t think about the HUGE mystery of life, then we are just going through the motions and hiding from the main point. That is like going to college for four years and getting a degree, just to go live at home with your parents and never get a job. You did the work, but you didn’t utilize the opportunity, you didn’t have a purpose for the degree. I feel like a lot of people just live to someday die. But God wants us to live with a purpose and a hope that one day we will get to live with Him in Heaven for eternity. 

Let me back it up a second. “If your God is so loving why did He create hell?” A question many unbelievers ask... 

Well, think about this. When someone rapes a child or kills another person, they are justly sent to jail, right? God is loving, but he hates evil. God hates rape. God hates murder. God hates lying and deceitfulness. I don’t think many people are upset about the fact that lying, murderous rapers go to hell, I think they are scared of the fact that sinners do, because we are all sinners. But that is how God shows us that He is so loving: He sent His Son to die for us, so that we can be forgiven of our sins and spend eternity in Heaven with Him. It is hard to hear that we all deserve to be punished, but it is amazing news that we can be freed from our sinfulness. This shows that God is loving. “He loves the world enough to punish wrongdoing, and he loves people enough to take the punishment himself,” Abi Weaver. God gives us this choice. 

A loving parent has rules. Maybe curfew, or guidelines about movies to watch, or snacks to eat. They have these rules for our good. They want us to eat healthy so that we can have strong muscles. They want us to get enough sleep and fill our mind with good, not evil. Just like God has some rules, they are put in place to make our lives better in the end, not worse. However, we still have the choice to adhere to those rules. The Ten Commandments are a fancy way to say guidelines. He wants us to follow them, but sometimes we will still choose to sin instead. Praise the Lord because God is full of mercy and grace, just like loving parents should be. When I was a child and I disobeyed my parents, I would have a punishment, but they forgave me and still loved me anyway. Our sins still have consequences. If you go against the law then you will go to jail. Or if you lie to a friend, you might lose a friendship. Choices bring consequences, and one choice brings life or death. 

I urge you today to be fearful of God’s power. In a way that forces you to make the biggest choice of your life. Stop hiding from the question, from the mystery. Decide to choose God’s grace. Believing in God doesn’t mean you are no longer a sinner. Believing in God means you believe that the gift He gave through His son, Jesus, is enough to forgive you of your sins. Warning: our sins still affect us and give us consequences, so be wise and strive to not sin, but know that God’s loving mercy washes you clean from your sin. 

I know this blog was DEEP and very full, but I hope that it helped in some way. I hope that it encouraged you to not just go through the motions of life and forget the purpose. ASK the BIG questions, seek Him, start to call out to God. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” Hebrews 11:6.

If you didn’t listen to anything else I said, at least hear this...Fearing God is believing in Him, because when you believe in Him, you believe in everything the Bible tells us. The Bible shows us that God is beyond powerful and that He has the authority and sovereignty to bring life or death. Choose life. Please, choose life. It won’t always be easy, but I promise it is worth it! 

Reach out to me! My phone number is (408) 529-0052. 

With all my love, your friend, Delaney Dilfer :)