Fear Does Not Have to Be So Scary

“The fear of the Lord leads to life and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.”- Proverbs 19:23

When we are scared or fearful, it is mostly due to sin and not obeying God’s commands and laws. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they got scared and hid from God after eating a piece of fruit from the tree He told them not to (Genesis 2:17, Genesis 3:8). After sinning, they had a reason to fear God and hid from Him because they felt guilt and shame for what they did.

The fear that Adam and Eve felt is a good kind of fear. This kind of fear showed they were sorry and cared what they did. When we fear God, it is not so scary because God promises to use our fear of Him for our benefit. The Bible says if we fear the Lord, He may prolong our life on earth but also eternally (Proverbs 10:27). Fearing the Lord is a blessing because it shows that we really hate evil, care about God’s commands, and want to obey them (Proverbs 8:13, Psalm 112:1).

Fearing God is not so scary because it shows Him that we respect what He says, and our first desire is to trust Him. When we respect someone, we trust them like a parent, a teacher or a pastor and we tend to listen to them because we know they want the best for us. The same goes for us when we fear and respect God too. God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “I say this because I know what I am planning for you, I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.” It is worth fearing the Lord and does not have to be so scary.

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

Help us to be fearful of You. This kind of fear is good because it shows that we care about Your commands and laws. We know You put laws into place to help us and not to hurt us. Please give us a spirit of fear in our hearts so we can continue to live a life that pleases You. Obeying Your laws will lead us to eternal life with You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!