Morning. Coffee. Communion. Musings.

The phrase “the fear of the Lord,” which is used often in the Old Testament especially in the Psalms and Wisdom literature, encompasses a wide range of responses toward God. At once it can mean a trust in God, obedience toward God, hope in God, and a healthy and sober reverence of God in his majesty and glory and holiness. According to the book of Proverbs, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov 9:10; cf. 1:7). For the nation of Israel, the “fear of the Lord” was the essence of what it meant to be in covenant relationship to God!

But I’ve always been fascinated by how Psalms uses the “fear of the Lord” as the means by which God’s people are rescued from all other fears. For example, take a look at Psalm 34:4, 7, and 9.

"I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears...The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them...Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!"

How does one fight fear with fear? I remember being extremely helped by Ed Welch in his book Running Scared on this subject. Welch gives this example. Let’s say you have a tremendous fear of the water. Nothing will ever get you in to step into a pool, a lake, or the ocean – not even in the shallow end. This is a real fear that many people experience. BUT the very minute that your child is drowning in that same pool, you immediately forget your fear of the water in order to save him. Your fear of the water is displaced by a greater fear – the fear of losing your child. Fear can be displaced by a greater fear!

As followers of Christ, when we have a proper fear of the Lord (i.e., seeing the depth of our sinfulness in light of God’s holiness, recognizing that our eternal destiny lies in God’s hands, and realizing that nothing in life matters more than our standing before Him) all other fears, while still real, are pushed to the periphery and cannot play a controlling, idolatrous role in our lives. God, instill in me a deeper fear of you!

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