Are there times when I should be afraid of the presence of God?

Genesis 3:8When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees.

Isaiah 6:5-7Then I [Isaiah] said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

You cannot hide your sins from God because he is present when you commit them. Awareness of his presence in our lives should come with a heightened awareness of our own sins. So there really isn’t any point in hiding from God. He is always with us. It is always best simply to come clean with him through confession.

Zephaniah 1:7Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near.

To walk into God’s presence with a heart bent toward sin is to invite his judgment.