Do We Fear Fear?

We are often told that fear is bad and there are a multitude of book & tapes on how to overcome fear but what if we are trying to get rid of something that is meant for our good? What if fear can actually enable us to succeed in life rather than fail?

People are afraid of many things. It could be spiders, flying, driving, or endless other things.  A good majority of people are afraid of public speaking because they are afraid of freezing up or not knowing what to say. So, doesn’t it make sense to do away with or overcome this dreaded problem called fear? I have learned in life that there are pros and cons to just about everything and fear is no exception.

When I was a teenager I didn’t fear much.  I would drive cars or motorcycles like a crazy man.  I would take so many chances with life and death and yet I didn’t care what the consequences were. Sometimes the brokenness inside us creates walls around our souls that make us numb to life.

Christians would try to witness to me about Christ and asked if I was afraid of hell.  At the time, I responded, “Not at all” and meant it. I was so full of brokenness and anger that the only time fear came into play in my life was when my anger was out of control and I had to do something to wrestle it back under control. When I was in a rage I would get on my motorcycle and drive as fast as I could, upwards of 95 mph in traffic on the highway, just to break the anger inside me. Something would eventually be triggered in my soul and fear of crashing would overcome my anger and release it’s grip on me.  In my case, fear was used to get me to think straight. The very sad thing is that Satan was trying to kill me and I didn’t even know it.

God speaks a lot about fear and how we should not be controlled by it but so often we see God’s instructions on how to handle fear but it is only one side. Many people like Moses, Joshua and others were instructed “NOT” to fear lest their trust in God would be diminished and their souls would lose its confidence in God. The phase “Do Not Fear” but be strong and courageous were God’s instructions when in a fight with the enemy, whether natural or spiritual. The problem is we then think of fear as needing to be ignored or rejected when God created us to see fear in a healthy way.

There are times in life when fear can be a great help.  One advantage of having fear in our life could be like walking up to a cliff and looking over the edge. Our mind warns us by using a measure of fear not to get too close lest we fall and die. We could be visiting a zoo and read a sign about not getting to close to a lion’s cage lest we get seriously hurt. In cases like these, a measure of fear is healthy and protective.

And then there are the instructions for us to “FEAR THE LORD”, which is referenced nearly 1,700 times in scripture. King David wrote a psalm that said the Fear of the Lord is clean, which means that there is no flaw in it and thus it endures above all other actions man can have towards the Lord. This kind of fear is both healthy and beneficial.

Psalms 19:9

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

Solomon wrote that the Fear of the Lord is in fact the beginning of knowledge, which means that in the beginning there was God and he is the author of all that we call knowledge. The Fear of the Lord transcends all other knowledge and should be held with great respect.  The sad thing is that Solomon was considered the wisest man who ever lived but he forgot this belief and wandered into forgetting the Fear of the Lord almost completely. In fact, he violated his own understanding of the knowledge of God and the wisdom of having a healthy fear. He is the one who penned “All is Vanity” in the book of Ecclesiastes, illustrating the sorrow and sadness he felt because he failed to take his own advice.

Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

It is tragically sad when the wisest man on earth violates his own insight and wisdom. In fact, Solomon wrote later in the book of Proverbs that the Fear of the Lord is the “BEGINNING” of not only knowledge but also wisdom.  Despite this, he still went against his own insight. If a person like Solomon can mess up his life so badly, even though he was the smartest man alive, what is the possibility you and I can learn and believe the word of God and “STILL” act stupidly? The possibility and probability is great “UNLESS” we constantly trust God more than ourselves. That is the whole point of the Fear of the Lord.  We need to leverage fear in order to benefit our souls by respecting God and his word more than ourselves.  We should because we know God is perfect and we are not. The fear of the Lord is understanding that respecting God is life and disrespecting God is death to our souls.

Proverbs 9:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah, which makes him Solomon’s great-great-grandson, and David’s great-great-great-grandson and the fourth king in the nation of Judah. He installed judges over the nation of Judah and gave a strong warning to these judges he put in place to be careful how they responded to God and thus how they responded to the nation when judging the people. He wanted to put forth a warning about abusing their authority by reminding them God is watching.

2 Chronicles 19:6-7

He said to the judges, consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD who is with you when you render judgment. Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe.

The conclusion is “FEAR” can be either “Destructive or Constructive” depending on how and why it is used. If we fear the Lord then we are protected from acting foolishly or even wickedly in our life’s journey. Knowledge by itself does not guarantee a good life but having the knowledge of God and fearing him makes our path strong and successful.

I have learned in my 72 years that having “STUFF” without peace is destructive but having little with the contentment in God is the most valuable thing to posses. We strive all our lives to be successful and prosperous but then fall into the trap by forgetting to Fear God, which is the wisest safeguard we could have.

Proverbs 15:16

Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and turmoil with it.

If you have lost your way in trying to be successful in life without respecting God as you should, take a moment and confess your error to God and ask his forgiveness. Wealth or the lack of wealth is not the problem but what we value in our souls can be. If I value God most that will guide my every decision but if I lose sight of Him then I am bound to pay dearly for it and may find myself at war with God.

Questions:

1) Have you ever done a study on the fear of the Lord? When you do you will discover, like Solomon, it is the beginning of real knowledge and wisdom.

2) Have you realized that where you might have violated the fear of the Lord in your Christian walk? Always remember that being forgiven is just a prayer away. ( 1 John 1:9)

Let us grow in our knowledge and respect of God,

Pastor Dale