What does the Bible say about fear and Fearing the Lord?
This year, at the beginning of each month, we are looking at emotions as found in the Bible. I have to admit to struggling with my emotions, even today after many years of following the Lord. I had some work being done in the house, and yet the team didn’t come prepared with everything necessary. I was upset because I was worried, they would fall and hurt themselves, working up near the ceiling. They could tell I was upset and then avoided talking to me except in mousy tones after that.
Am I supposed to be neutral about the team being unprepared? I didn’t yell at them, but I did ask where the ladder was and expressed dismay (extreme dismay?) at the lack of one. I also don’t like workers wandering my home unaccompanied. I had to firmly tell them to go back to the work area. So, were they afraid? I don’t want people to fear me, nor do I want to fear my emotions and how they are shown.
Fear not
We know that there are many verses that proclaim we are not to fear. The famous verses from Joshua 1:9, ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go,’ to 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT), ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline,’ we are exhorted to move beyond our fear.
Yes, move beyond our fear. We are not told to fear because God is with us, also in Isaiah 41:10. I don’t see this as a command that fear is wrong, but rather to recognize it and not allow ourselves to be consumed by it. Isaiah 41 continues later, repeating that God is with his people and will help them. The fear must not stop them from doing what God has called them to do: walk with him. His presence alone is enough to drive out the fear that we may experience. Fear itself is not sin, fear is an emotion that tells us that we must understand what is going on and check how we are with God and this current situation.
Fear of the Lord
We also see in the Bible that those who follow God fear him. What then is this fear if we are encouraged to do so?
What is ‘fear of the Lord’ and why are we encouraged in this fear? The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines fear as ‘an unpleasant often strong emotions caused by anticipation or awareness of danger; anxious concern’ and this is in line with the kind of fear that we are consistently told not to give in to, as described above. If we continue on to the next definition we find, ‘profound reverence and awe especially toward God.’ This reverence and awe is the deep honor and respect that we have for God; this is nothing related to being afraid or anxious.
God is worthy of all honor and glory, this is the awe that ‘fear of the Lord’ is referencing. We revere the Lord; we call him valuable and precious. This value is more than a diamond or pearl that we would wear with pride, for he is the Creator of things, as he willed them into being. It is the awe that moves this honor to the reverence or ‘fear’ category. There is such stunning revelation in who he is that we fall on our knees and gape in wonder at him.
The Bible and these fears
Parable of the Bags of Gold, Matthew 25:14-30 (Parable of Ten Minas, Luke 19:11-27)
I think the Parable of the Bags of Gold will help us understand the difference between the two fears that we have here. To summarize, a man entrusted his servants with some of his wealth while he was away. Upon his return, he called for an accounting of the wealth he left with them. Some had doubled the wealth of the master and were rewarded. One came who had been given little and returned only that which he had been given. In explanation, verse 24 and 25 of Matthew 25 tells us, ‘“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ Then man then sent the servant ‘outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,’ (verse 30). Please read the passage for more nuances.
What we find here is the contrast of those servants who revered the master and the one who feared the master. We find the contrast of who knew the master and who did not know the master.
When we look at the difference between being afraid of God and holding God in awe, we find that difference here: some servants carry out the will of the master, knowing that his trust and assistance are with them; one is paralyzed by the master’s capabilities and hides the wealth he was given. The one that cowers has not seen the full picture or trusted that he is with those who are on his side. He has missed that which moves us from fear to obedience, from fear to joy, from fear to peace. He has missed the point that God loves us and does all out of love. That love means that he wants our good, the very definition of love is to work for the good of another.
The Fear of the Lord drives out fear
Considering the same example from Matthew, we can see how the ‘fear of the Lord’ also drives out all fear. When we know God and that he works for our good, we can rest in his abundance and his goodness, thereby finding that fear does not paralyze us. Fear may come but we know that we are in Christ and therefore have no need to fear, and we move forward, beyond it. The fear we experience as an emotion should lead us to call out to God and see that his help comes. His help always comes. So indeed, fear not.
