When fear is good

Table of Contents

Is there ever a time when fear is the best course? No one likes to be afraid, but there is a situation where fear is of benefit to us all.

Throughout the Bible there is the admonition, or firm warning, to ‘fear not.’ See Isaiah 41:10, for instance. This is in reference to fear of outside influences other than the presence of God. It speaks of having no fear for enemies, circumstances or anxieties.

When we learn to trust God we will have the opportunity to overcome all external fear and anxiety.

However, there is a case for fearing God Himself. In fact, we are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10

When we acknowledge the power, wonder and majesty of God we will learn to lean towards Him for all counsel rather than to our own limited understanding of life.

Rediscovering majesty

Sadly, in the modern era we have all but lost sight of what it meant to serve and revere majesty. Kings at one time were all powerful. The people understood how to fear for their very lives.

The problem with this was that kings and rulers are human and subject to sin and they did not always govern with justice or judgement that was in any way just or equitable. The people lost respect for poor leadership, and rebelled.

If you consider Israel, who demanded of God a king to rule them, they were warned by God that a king would place heavy burdens on them in the long run. Had they remained faithful to God as their Overseer they would have known that His leadership and guidance is sufficient for all.

Isaiah warned the people that their lack of respect for the Word of God and for His precepts would led them into captivity. He gave them an opportunity to repent and return to God once and for all, but they rejected Him and were defeated in battle and led away from the Promised Land for seventy years.

The LORD of hosts, Him you shall hallow;
Let Him be your fear,
And let Him be your dread.
Isaiah 8:13

If we are going to tremble before anything or anyone let it be God, who deserves this level of reverence. We need to rediscover majesty, and the worship of God our Creator.

And this is the clue. The fear we are discussing here has more to do with a holy and respectful reverence than of abject terror, although there is tat aspect if we rebel against God, because He is all powerful and will not have sin stand before Him.

Learning love

If we can learn this we will know that our surrender to His will will ultimately lead us into a blessed and fulfilling life. This reverence can only come through knowing God, and this only comes through faith in His Son Jesus.

When we see what Jesus has done for us at the cross we will acknowledge the great sacrifice He gave so that we could come to Him and be saved by Him. God didn’t send Jesus to be a terror to us, but to demonstrate the love of God towards us (John 3:16).

This love He gives is the absolute antidote to all fear.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.
1 John 4:18-19

When we know and experience His love in our lives we will naturally and spiritually revere Him with a high level of respect and honour that can only come through recognising the dynamic love of God towards us, and our realisation of His presence in our lives.