Biblical Fear

The Bible instructs us to fear God, but do we really fear God, biblically? What does the fear of the Lord look like? Christian men and women used to be described as “God-fearing” or “God honoring” men and women. The Bible teaches that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, is the beginning of wisdom, it leads to life, prolongs life and leads to safety. Clearly the fear of the Lord has a prominent place in the life of a believer, but what does it really mean to fear the Lord? When the Bible speaks of the fear of the Lord, it is not referring to a fear as one would fear Godzilla, snakes or mice. It means a reverential fear, a fear that leads to obedience and trust. Although we serve an awesome God, we are not to be afraid of Him as one would be afraid of the dark, rather fear Him as a loving father. One story that illustrates a true Biblical Fear of the Lord is the story of Job.

The story of Job teaches us that the fear of the Lord produces a man who is blamess and upright, one who turns from evil and continues to trust God, even when things go horribly wrong. Now, I am sure we are all familiar with the story of Job. This is the ultimate, “Why do bad things do happen to good people” story. What we know is that although Job was a rich man, he was also a good man, and a man that was tested by God. The first verse describes Job as a blameless and upright man and a man who Feared God and turned away from evil. Satan was so sure that the only reason Job feared God was because of all his riches, so he asked God for permission to test Job asking, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" But because God knew Job’s heart, he granted Satan what he had asked with the exception that Satan could not take Job’s life. So Satan set off to prove God wrong, stripping Job of everything but his life. Have you ever stopped to ponder what it would be like to lose all you ever worked for, all your children, the respect of your friends and the support of your spouse? This is exactly what happened to Job, but through it all he did not sin with his mouth or charge God with wrong. Just think about that for a moment. Because Job feared God, he continued to trust God even when he lost all his material possessions, when his children were killed, when his friends forsook him, even when his wife told him to “curse God and die.” Job understood that life is God’s to give but man’s to live. When Job was told of the great calamity that befell him the Bible says, “Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And Job said, "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” These horrible incidents did not cause Job to run from God but to run to God. Job tore his robe and shaved his head in grief, fell prostrate on the ground worshiping and declared his trust and submission in God. That is what biblical fear of the Lord looks like.

Do you fear the Lord this way? Do you trust Him in the tough times accepting the good from God as well as the bad? When bad things happen, do you feel as if God has wronged you or do you worship Him even when you are hurting? We must realize as Job did that God is totally in control of our lives in good times or bad. We are completely in His hands. This brings peace for the believer in time of trouble. Although Job did not understand everything that was going on in his life the calamity upon him was great, he still trusted God because of his fear of HIM.