Fearless

One thing I don’t miss about summer is the hawk eyes I would have to have when I took my toddler to the pool. For some reason, he had this fearless attitude toward the water.  No matter how much I would communicate to him the need for a life jacket, he wanted to roam the pool free without any assistance of a flotation device.   I would state to my husband, “if only he would develop a healthy fear of the water, things would be so much easier.”

Then I wondered how many Christians walk through life without a healthy fear of God? We are told in scripture to “Fear the Lord” but what exactly does that look like? Am I supposed to cower down and feel frighten because of all the power my Heavenly Father has?  After all, He flooded the earth and destroyed cities.  

But, fearing God doesn't mean I should be scared of him like a victim.  A godly fear doesn't cripple you or terrify you like we equate the human emotion of fear.   On the contrary, God is love and perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18).

Fearing God means having reverence and respect for Him. The fear of God gives me the right perspective as I journey through life.  Proverbs 1:7 states “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”  This is one of my husband’s favorite verses.  As many times as we've read this verse and discussed it, the word beginning never jumped out before.  It is funny how we want to commence with things without starting at the beginning.  My son wants to commence with his act of roaming the pool without ever acknowledging pool safety. After all, at swim lessons, instructors BEGIN with the KNOWLEDGE of pool safety.   Whether one is learning to sky dive, use a gun, or just drive a vehicle, instructors always begin with the course with instruction and then proceed with life application.  However, in life we want to start life application without knowledge.  Proverbs 9:10 states “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” We can’t expect for transformed lives if we begin in the wrong place.  The right place is with the correct fear.

 

So, what does a life without the fear of God look like? It’s reckless!  It’s careless!  It’s inattentive of the danger they are in. It is my toddler roaming the pool without a life jacket or wanting to hold mommy!    By fearing God through respect and reverence, we are opening our lives to skillfully apply the prerequisite needed as we venture through life.