The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. - Proverbs 16:33

There is a difference between having a fear of God and being afraid of God. When we are afraid of God we find ways to avoid Him at all costs. We even go as far as to invent reasons why we are justified to keep God at arms length.

We say things like, “I’ll seek God when I get my act cleaned up,” or, “If God really cared, He wouldn’t let all these bad things happen to me.”

But to fear God is wholly different than to be afraid of God. To fear God is to say, “I not only believe in God, but I believe what He says.” That means we believe what He says about ourselves. We believe what He says about the world. We believe what He says about Himself.

To be afraid of God is to believe the lie that we can keep ourselves from Him. But to fear God is to acknowledge that it is truly impossible to hide from Him, as Adam and Eve did. When we fear God both wholly and holy, we are forced to face ourselves, open ourselves to Him, and place ourselves at His mercy. And that is where fear disappears. When we humiliate ourselves, face Him and tremble at His feet, He lifts us up and gives us wisdom and honor.

How about you? Are you running because you are afraid of God, or are you falling at His feet because you fear Him?

Today’s Prayer
Lord, take away my desire to run away from you because of I am afraid of who you are. Help me to face myself, turn and face you, so I can adopt a holy fear that leads me into righteousness. Amen.