. . . for man shall not see me and live—Exodus 33:20
We are made for fear. We are made to live with fear, not
without it, as we would like. It is just, as so often happens, we get
preoccupied with things we can see and hear and touch. But these are not what we
are supposed to fear—not people, nor circumstances. About such things, our
King, Jesus Christ says, “do not fear” (Luke 12:4-5, 22-24). No, we are meant
to fear a fearsome God.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”
(Proverbs 1:7).
But what does it mean to fear God? Well, mostly it means
keeping our thinking straight. It means seeing God, in all his power, in proper
relation and proportion to the people and problems in this world. Though we
sometimes act as if he were, God is not smaller than financial hardship,
difficult work situations, difficulties with children. He is not equal to them.
He is so much bigger, so much more powerful, even comparing does not make
sense. He is alpha and omega. He is the beginning and the end of everything.
What is astonishing is this fearsome God, for some reason,
chooses to love each of us with a fierce love—a love that is good and will
never relent. So, to him, we must not respond as we have been conditioned to
respond to fear—control, minimize, avoid, numb. We must respond by recognizing,
every day, every moment, that he is the most important, most powerful force in
our lives, and that we are his favoured sons.
Okay, so what do we do?
Name your biggest fears. Write them down. Look at them.
Imagine them as God sees them. How frightening are they now? The truth is,
things we can see, hear, touch are never our ultimate threats, not when God is
around—and he always is. Our ultimate threat is choosing to live as if these
things are bigger than he.
WiRE - justin@gatherministries.com
