Fear is a Good Thing

One of my favorite Psalms is 112. It begins with the admonition:
“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands.”
Some people, when they read the word “fear” in the Scriptures picture in their mind someone who is hiding from God. They are trembling because God can bring a terrible judgment upon their life and they know that God is someone to keep at a distance.
Yet if you truly “fear” God, you find that God is the power that changes our life. His presence fills our hearts not only in holy places, like Israel or church, but everywhere we find our heart to be.
This joy and admiration brings a great awe to our life. A power that not only causes us to be amazed at its strength, but it continually calls us to grow deeper into the Kingdom of God.
There is a great reason for this fear-filled walk with God. It is found in verses 6 and 7 of the same Psalm:

“Surely he (the man of God) will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.
He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”

Long ago I found a prayer by an anonymous author. I think it comes after we find the true “fear” of loving God:

PRAYER JUST FOR TODAY
Give me your help, Lord, to live this one day.
One knot to unravel, one problem to weigh;
One path to discover and choose the right turn.
One worry to conquer, one lesson to learn;
One moment of gladness to overcome pain;
One glimpse of the sunlight, one touch of the rain.
No one can see what is coming tomorrow,
Nor tell if its hours will bring laughter or sorrow;
So I'll turn to your love and with perfect trust say.
"Lord, give me your help to live this one day."

Can you see now how fear can be a good thing?

Mid-week Prayer

Holy God, we come before you with a life filled with challenges and concerns. We walk in the world and we hear the sound of a people who are struggling. When we come to You with our life freely given to Your will, we still hear the struggle of the world, but we begin to realize that we have been taught to hide and ignore Your grace. We have been taught by our own doubts, our false hopes and the mistrust of others.
Come today and let us truly be filled with the “fear” (awe) of Your Holy presence. We pray this in the blessed name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. Why not read all of Psalm 112 and join me again next week and we will search the Bible to find more of God’s love for our lives.