Should I Be Afraid Of God?

Should I Be Afraid of God?

Bible Blast: Read Proverbs 31:25-31

Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised. Proverbs 31:30

I’m not afraid of heights. I don’t freak out in small spaces. Snakes don’t bother me. The threat of sharks doesn’t keep me from enjoying the ocean. But there is one thing that I just can’t handle. I am totally afraid of spiders! I have been known to completely freak out at the sight of one of those eight-legged creatures. I’m not even sure why I’m so afraid of them. I don’t even recall any horrific spider bite incidents. Whatever the reason, spiders cause great fear to rise up in me. But I do have one heroic story of triumph over the biggest spider I’ve ever seen in my life.

I was a camp counselor, and I was spending time with my campers in our cabin. We were chatting away, and everything was fine until I spotted “It”—the most gigantic spider I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I remember its being at least six inches wide with horrible spiky legs. As I stood there paralyzed by fear, I realized there was no big strong man around to take care of this problem for me. I was in charge.

I’m not really sure how I did it, but somehow I gathered up the courage to trap the spider and take it outside. That’s right. I didn’t even kill it. Aren’t you so proud of me?

We usually think of fear as a totally negative thing. But let me teach you about a different kind of fear. The Bible often talks about fearing God or the fear of the Lord. This fear isn’t the same feeling I get when I see a spider. It’s a positive sense of reverence or awe for God. Fearing God means you recognize that he is the all-powerful King of kings and that you live your life in respect and wonder for him.

You may have stopped to watch an amazing sunset and thought, Wow! God did that! That’s a fear-of-the-Lord experience. Have you ever been really uncomfortable and maybe even angry when someone else spoke disrespectfully about God? That’s the fear of the Lord rising up in you. Fearing the Lord isn’t being terrified of him. It’s acknowledging him as the ultimate power in the universe.

Girl Gab: Share stories of times when you think you may have experienced the fear of the Lord in your life. Thank God for being your King.