Live In FEAR

^{What are you afraid of?  There are many fears in this world, way too many to list.  One study listed over 4,000 phobias that people live with each day.  Wow stinks to be that guy, ha!  Seriously we all have them, it almost seems to be human is to fear.}

Now some of my fears are realistic and some are unfounded.  I mean I don’t like snakes and that is a realistic fear, right?  They are slimy, sneaky, slithery … oh wait they actually aren’t slimy and I don’t think I can ever prove they are sneaky but they do slither.

And that is how fear works, it bases itself on some level of truth and then exaggerates the rest.  Fear has an uncanny ability to freeze my ability by forcing me to stare into a future of “what if’s” base on a past of “see that’s”.

Can I be honest here, one of my biggest fears is the presence of God.  Yep I fear God.  Now the Bible tells us “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding…” (Psalm 111:10) yet the fear the Bible speaks of is not trembling and groveling in horror, fright and panic but of reverence and respect.  We have other English words like awe, amazement, admiration even astonishment!

Now I know as a pastor and a life-long Christian you expect me to say I fear the LORD, in other words I worship Him and let me say I do.  But I also fear Him.  I mean I many times find myself “in fear” or reserved from Him and I think that human fear does that to a person.  It causes them to think the worst, believe the worst, live the worst.  

And when I reserve myself from my God I walk “in fear” of Him not “fearing” Him.  The good news that “fearing” God is the beginning of wisdom and good understanding additionally the Bible also tells us in Psalm 25:14 that “The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”  That is good news.

The bad news is that the opposite is true for those that are “in fear” of him.  They walk without wisdom and good understanding.  They don’t have a God that confides in them or know the covenant of God.  Why?  Simple we are reserved.  The balance of fearing God will send us in reverence or reservation.  Where are you?