Fear The Lord? - The One Year Sweet and Simple Moments with God Devotional

Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD.

Psalm 34:11

When my daughter was little and fearful of something, my mother-heart longed to make things safe for her. Actually, I longed to help her feel safe as well, in the only real security I could offer. Childlike faith is so precious. Children often have an easier time trusting Jesus than adults. I admit to my own set of fears, which prompts me to talk to God. Whether a child or an adult, once we talk to God about whatever scares us, it is easier to rest, knowing that God’s got it covered and things will be okay.

I wanted to raise my daughter to not only fear the Lord but trust Him with her fears. As adults, we can have a more difficult time trying to grasp the concept of what it means to fear the Lord. Although we almost always associate fear with something scary, that isn’t what is meant here. The concept of fearing the Lord can be confusing, but I like to clarify it in my mind by imagining Jesus reacting two different ways to two different situations.

First, He is altogether kind and loving and gentle with those who belong to Him. But on the other hand, He can be fearsome and fierce and intimidating to His enemies who hate His holiness or who threaten those He loves.

When you have a healthy fear of the Lord, you realize that He is a loving Father who is also the King of kings. He is all-powerful, a characteristic to be feared by His enemies and respected by all. He is also all-loving, a quality that brings security to those who love Him and call Him Savior.

When we see Jesus in every aspect, we not only gain a deeper respect and fear for Him, but we begin to approach our worship time with Him differently too. We become closer to Him, and we feel free to give Him our fears.

Let’s live with a healthy, respectful, worshipful fear of the Lord. We can do that by going to Him with our worship, praise, thanksgiving, needs, questions, and fears—acknowledging that He is sovereign over our lives.