Saturday, March 29, 2014

Fear of The Lord



Because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid; What can man do to me?"


Have you ever thought of fear as a good thing? I know it's not something that usually comes to my mind. Just the word fear invokes so much emotion that I become defensive and on guard. But today, I want to look at the fear of The Lord.

There are many verses in the Bible about fearing The Lord. The most recognizable is Proverbs 9:10 that says, "The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

But do we understand what that even means to fear The Lord?

On my journey of understanding fear of The Lord, God has taken me to a place I didn't want to go. He allowed me to have to deal and confront some of those "what if" fears and unknown future fears that I struggle with. He has shown me that my heart needs to be set on Him and not to allow anyone or anything to take His place in my life. He has revealed His constant, unchanging nature that I needed to be reminded of.

And ultimately, He has shown me just how devestating and fearful being separated from Him by sin can be. It's a dark, lonely and unknown place. That is not a place I want to even visit for the weekend!

But God's grace and mercy and love is overwhelming, and I feel this in an overwhelming rush when I repent of my sin. And for me, this is where I truly experience fear of The Lord. I feel an overwhelming awe, reverence and amazement that despite Him being without sin, He welcomes me, cleanses me of the ick of my sin, and calls me His child.

Have you experienced God in this way in our own life? Have you felt the Fear of The Lord?

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

The Power of Christ Through My Fears



But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient or you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
              2 Corinthians 12:9-10



Fear. It's crippling, immobilizing, and suffocating. It can keep us from doing things we should and causes us to react in ways we cannot control. Left unguarded and unchecked, fear can spread like wildfire in our hearts.

For too long I have lived trapped by a variety of fears. Giving up control, failure, rejection, weakness and the list could go on and on.

As I tackle this issue of fear in my life, I sought help in the Bible. Does it have anything to say directly against my fears? Some of them, yes, but one passage in particular stood out to me.

In the passages above, Paul reminds us of Jesus' words on grace. But it was more the words on my weakness that drew me in. You see, I can't stand to be thought of as weak. But I am. I can't stand to be thought of as a failure. But I am. I can't stand to be known for lack of self-control. But I am.

But Paul takes my weaknesses and holds them up to the power of Christ in me. So while I am a weak, control-freak who hates to fail, Christ's power has given me strength. I just need to live in that power so that through my fears, or weaknesses, that Christ can truly display His power.

So no matter what may come, I will delight in my weaknesses because I am weak, He is strong. Though the fear may immobilize me, it ultimately causes me to turn to Christ and rely on His power
in amazing ways.

How is He using your fears?