Day 4: Good Fear
WHAT IF~ FEAR REMOVES FEAR?
I love
MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES,
even thoughI have never climbed a mountain.
MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCE~
That moment when you just
KNOW
it was
GOD
WHO did somethingyou could have never done.
And there you stand
in the
STILLNESS
of the
AWE OF GOD,
because you suddenly
KNOW
that
GOD IS GOD
and
YOU ARE NOT.
I can only imagine
MOSES
as he tended the flock and came to
HOREB,THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD.
There before him was a bush
ON FIRE
that somehow
DID NOT BURN UP.
Moses moved closer.
And then...
GOD CALLED HIS NAME.
“Moses! Moses!”
And Moses answered,
“Here I am.”
Then GOD said~
"Do not come any closer...
Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground"(Exodus 3:5).
Oh
to STAND in the
PRESENCE OF GOD.
Can't you almost
FEEL THE FEAR?
But what kind of FEAR?
Is the FEAR OF GOD~
What does HE think of me?
Is the FEAR OF GOD~
Is HE going to yell at me?
Is the FEAR OF GOD~
Is HE going to point out all my weaknesses?
Is the FEAR OF GOD~
Is HE going to tell me that I will never measure up?
Hmm.
Wait a second.
That sounds a lot more like
THE FEAR OF OTHERS
than
THE FEAR OF GOD.
Because the biblical
FEAR OF GOD
doesn't make me run
AWAY FROM HIM.
It brings me to my knees
BEFORE HIM
in
AWE,ADORATION,REVERENCE,HUMILITYandTHANKSGIVING.
The FEAR OF GOD
makes me want to take off my sandals because I suddenly realize~
I AM STANDING ON HOLY GROUND.
Not because the dirt beneath Moses' feetwas somehow magical,
but because
GOD WAS THERE.
Oh,
WHAT IF THE FEAR OF GOD is a GOOD FEAR?
WHAT IF FEARING GODisn't being terrified that HE is waiting to condemn you?
HMM.
WHAT IF?
For those who are in
CHRIST JESUS~
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in CHRIST JESUS"(Romans 8:1).
Oh,
GOD is HOLY.
GOD is RIGHTEOUS.
GOD is ALMIGHTY.
And yet this HOLY GODinvites us to come near because HE is also a
GOD of GRACE.
Moses looks upon the burning bush.
The fire burns,
but the bush is not consumed.
And when Moses realizesWHO is speaking to him~
"Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at GOD"(Exodus 3:6)
There it is.
AWE.
REVERENCE.
WONDER.
The realization:
THIS IS GOD.
And
I AM NOT.
And perhaps even more astonishing~
THIS GOD KNOWS MY NAME.
GOD KNEW Moses.
GOD KNEW his past.
GOD KNEW his weaknesses.
GOD KNEW his fears.
GOD even KNEW all the excusesMoses was about to make.
And still,
GOD CALLED HIM.
Oh,
GOD KNOWS YOUbetter than you know yourself, and HE still invites you NEAR.
So maybe
THE FEAR OF GOD
is one of the safest places you can ever stand.
Because when GOD becomes BIGGER,
everything else begins becoming SMALLER.
The opinions of people.
The uncertainty of tomorrow.
The circumstances you cannot control.
The WHAT IFs that keep you awake at night.
BUT
WHAT IF THE RIGHT FEAR FREES you
FROM ALL THE WRONG FEARS?
David understood this~
"The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1).
There are two very different ways to say
I FEAR GOD.
One says:
“I am afraid OF HIM.”
The other falls to its knees and whispers:
“I AM IN AWE OF HIM.”
Do you “FEAR” GODor do you FEAR GOD?
Hmm.
Sounds like the same question,
but oh how it is
SO DIFFERENT.
For~
"Praise the LORD! (Hallelujah!)Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by GOD]is the man who fears the LORD [with awe-inspired reverenceand worships HIM with obedience],who delights greatly in HIS commandments" (Psalm 112:1 AMP).
So,
WHAT IF instead of allowing
FEAR to make GOD seem smaller,
you allow the FEAR OF GOD to remind you just how BIG HE IS?
Now that is the sweet spot of surrender,
And if you truly
FEAR GOD
with awe-inspired reverence,
then perhaps the question becomes~
IS FEAR SOMETHING
I NEED TO FEAR?
Hmm.
Because when I know
WHO MY GOD IS,
I can stand before every other fearand ask~
“WHOM SHALL I FEAR?”*
*(listen to the song below)
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