We read often in the Bible about “the fear of God.” In our 21st century mindset we immediately think “fear” has something to do with being scared. Just this past week in a sermon I said that “fear of God does not mean being afraid of God. It means being in awe of God.”
Some people still have trouble grasping that. They think of God has being so high and holy (He is); so righteous and pure (He is); so majestic and unexplainable (He is), that to consider not being afraid of Him is nothing they would consider. After all, someone so powerful demands our respect and whatever He says goes. Least that is what we think.
Now…there is some credence to that. The fact that God is so much greater than us or than we can express, or that He is so much more powerful than we can imagine, sometimes leaves us with a feeling of dread. More aptly put: fear. But once again I ask that you consider fear is not being afraid of God, but being in awe of God.
This came home to me powerfully as I read my Scripture devotion this morning. We were asked to read Isaiah 5-8. In that section is one of THE MOST POWERFUL Scriptures and encounters with God recorded in the Bible. It is the story of Isaiah in chapter 6 when he encounters God in all his holiness. Rather than describe it for you, let me allow the passage itself to do that:
It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!’ (NLT)
Isaiah was overwhelmed with the purity and the sheer magnificence of a holy God. He was in AWE of God. That awe led him to repent and to admit he was unclean. That is what the awe of God should cause us to do as well. All pride stripped away. All semblance of our own goodness undone. In seven verses, the Gospel is preached: God is holy, we are not. We are sinners in desperate need of cleansing and there is no hope for us aside from that.
Be in awe of God today.
Isaiah had it right in this scripture. God is holy and we are not. May we bow before Him with fear and awe that He would even deign to love us as He does.
Blessings, Bill!
he did for sure Martha and we would do well to see the same. And you are right in us realizing He love us and not understanding why.
Everyday we should start the day, praising God, and honoring Him. We could never give God all the glory He deserves in our day, even if we praised Him without ceasing every waking hour. It is amazing that such a holy perfect God, loves us more than we could ever grasp. Thank-you Father, may we always be humbled by You. 1Tim1:17
I’m with you on that Gail. Every day, all day.
I do know this, when we are at our lowest, that’s when God is at His Highest! The one line that really caught me this time around was “..and the train of his robe filled the Temple.” The fact that we get it so wrong so many times, and yet God is so… merciful and long-suffering(?) He knows.. He just knows!
Yes He does Ed. He knows and is so much more than we can imagine.