THANKFUL

Chatting with Jesus

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Lord, throughout Scripture, we’re instructed to ‘fear’ the Lord. Yet, whenever Scripture records an angel appearing to someone, the first words from the angel are, “Don’t be afraid,” or “fear not!” Can people take fear the Lord, and Fear not, don’t be afraid as contradictory statements? Perhaps. Skeptics look for perceived contradictions. Lord, we pray you open their blind eyes to biblical precepts.

In biblical terms, fear the Lord does not mean we are to be afraid of you. Far from it. You are our heavenly Father who wants your children to come to you. Fear means we hold you in awe, wonderment, reverence. You are the only true God, worthy of all worship and praise. The psalmist in his wisdom recorded:

“He’s so personal and holy, worthy of our respect. The good life begins in the fear of God—Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God” —Psalm 111:10 (The Message).

Lord, to fear you is to love you with all our heart, mind, and strength, and to keep your commandments. To fear you is to love our neighbor as ourselves. To fear you is to acknowledge you in everything we do and devote our words and actions to please you. To fear you is to never hesitate to call upon you when we are tempted to compromise our values, which for most, happens daily.

To fear you is to recognize “afraid fear” is not from you.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”       2Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

Lord, I fear you. Why should I be afraid? Amen, Jesus.