Don’t Be Afraid To Fear God
A couple of years ago I had the occasion to stop at a pet crematorium. I stopped by to return something I’d borrowed from the owner. Like most people I had never seen a crematorium so I asked if I could look around. The actual crematorium isn’t very big, about the size of a 15 passenger van. There were pipes going in and out and fans and a very prominent thermometer. The temperature inside was around 1600° F. It was very impressive.
At one end was a little peep hole sealed with very thick glass you could look through once a small cap was removed. The man working there asked if I wanted to look in. When he did something happened that I didn’t expect. I was struck with fear. I thought, “What if that glass breaks when I look through it?” I knew that was an irrational thought. He had just explained all of the safety mechanisms so I knew it was safe. I did look, albeit rather quickly.
I can’t think of another time in my life when I felt the way I did at that moment. I was standing next to an incredibly powerful machine. Even though I knew it was safe, I was filled with fear, not terror but in awe of its power.
[Tweet “To fear God is to understand God”]
Have you ever felt that way about God? Have you ever thought about the fact that He is so powerful that all He has to do is speak and what He says happens? Think about the vastness of the universe. It’s so large we can’t measure it and yet He spoke it into existence.
[Tweet “To know God is to be in awe of His power and comforted with His love”]
Few of us today have a biblical view of the incredible power of God. We’ve come to know God the Father through Jesus and we think of the Father and Jesus as kind and loving. Which we should. But if that is all we think of Them we’re missing something very important. The Old Testament saints had a much better understanding of this than we do today.
3 Ways We See People Fear God In The Bible
- Many people in the Bible thought if they saw God they would die! Gideon Judges 6:21-23
- The Israelites at Mt Sinai heard as God spoke the Ten Commandments to Moses and they trembled in fear Exodus 20:15-18.
- The prophet Isaiah had a vision in which he saw the Lord and was overcome with fear Isaiah 6:1-7.
There needs to be a balance. We need to fear God and we need to love God Father like a Dad Romans 8:15. Our God and Father will one day speak and all of the heavens and all of the earth as we know it will be burned up, dissolved and gone 2 Peter 3:10! Then He will speak and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Just like that! It’s worth thinking about that for a while.
[Tweet “The fear of God leads to worship and obedience”]
Fear God, then worship Him. It’s time!
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