The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. (ESV)

As a young Christian, I struggled with verses that spoke of fearing God. I couldn’t understand how a loving God should be feared. I likened it to a commander I once had in the Air Force. This man “led” with anger, wrath, and a fiery temper. His people were indeed afraid of him – rightly so. If anyone messed up, he would yell at them, inches from their face, while they stood at attention. I saw young airmen come to work sick and fearful every day.  

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Was I supposed to fear God like the airmen feared this commander? Would I make God angry enough for him to stand inches from my face yelling about how bad I messed up?  

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David talks about the fear of the LORD in many of his psalms, and he shows a much different picture:

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Psalm 34:7-10 says, “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”  

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Psalm 25:12-14, “Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land. The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”

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Psalm 111:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”

I know now that the word fear in our current passage has more to do with reverence than terror. We do have a God who can bring wrath and terror, but we also have a holy God that we can hold in awe and amazement. When we stay focused on him and his will, we don’t need to be terrified of him.

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I found this description and just loved it: “Rabbi Shai Held brings the teaching of Bernard Steinberg, ‘Awe is what happens to fear when it stops being about me.’ When I fear God, in other words, I think about God’s might and the ways it could impact me, but when I hold God in awe, I think only of God’s mightThe Heart of Torah, (emphasis mine).

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Looking back at our referenced psalms, we see that when we have a fear of the LORD, a reverence and awe, he encamps around us and delivers us. He gives us refuge, provision, instruction, well-being, inheritance, wisdom, and even friendship. That doesn’t sound like the fear I thought of when I was a new Christian. This isn’t the fear my commander evoked wherever he went.  

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While my commander was most likely focused on his own fear, which caused him to rule with an iron fist and cause more fear, David was focused on God reigning with goodness, righteousness, and justice. Even when David messed up, got off the right path, feared, or doubted, his mind and heart were ultimately focused on God.  

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If we’re to finish well in this life, we need to fear the Lord, holding him in awe and reverence – knowing he is a God of goodness and justice. We stay focused on him, and the trembling fear that causes us to run for cover and hide becomes awe and amazement at his might, works, and glorious power.  

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Do you fear God in the way we all feared my commander, or do you fear him in awe and wonder? I challenge you to focus on God alone, and taste and see that the Lord is good.

God, may we stay focused on you in a fear that is filled with wonder.  May we reject fear that is from the enemy so that we can walk in our calling and purpose you have established for us. With the power of your Spirit and in the precious name of Jesus ~ AMEN!