All in Fear
It all began in the garden, didn’t it? It certainly would have been God’s desire that we be holy as He is. After all He created man in his own image (Genesis 1:27), and holiness is the essence of His being. Makes me wonder how different things could have been.
In my search for the fear of the LORD this year I am certainly in need of both wisdom and understanding. See how key knowledge of the Holy One is. I need to know God, not just know about God. The Hebrew for knowledge, yada, is experiential knowledge, not merely head knowledge.
Names in biblical times were important. “I AM WHO I AM” proclaims the “eternity and self-existence of God”*. Plain and simple, that is who He is. The name by which He is to be known forever is ‘The LORD’, translated Yahweh. The Israelites considered Yahweh too holy to speak or write out in full.** At least they started out with reverence and awe.
The Old Testament patriarchs and prophets were no strangers to godly fear. Take Isaiah’s cry for example: “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5).
Really—Fear? Who in the world would choose “fear” as their word for the year? But that is the word that dawned on me as my girlfriends and I began a journey through Kathy Howard’s Before His Throne* Bible study in January.
Being a people-pleaser is not something to be proud of. It is based on fear of rejection, punishment, or abandonment. Not until recently did I realize that I work to please people more than I want to please God. Ouch! That’s a hard reality to face.
Habakkuk—one of those books in the Bible I need the index to find, and cannot spell unless I pronounce each “k” separately. Mercy me! In the days before the southern kingdom fell to Babylon (586 BC), the prophet Habakkuk’s heart was broken over the apparent triumph of evil over righteousness. Decency and peace were crumbling everywhere. Kind of makes us think of society today.
Fear of failure.
Fear of people.
Fear of being different.
Fear of the unknown.
Fear of being known.
Fear of death.
Fear of the future.
What are your greatest fears? It’s not often I’ve feared for my life but several memories remind me I’ve had a few.
Traveling home from Belize with one of my 10 year old twins as we flew through a terrible storm was terrifying. I was not sure we would make it safely back to Houston.
Strong and courageous are two words I would not normally use to describe myself. As a little girl, I was afraid of many things. My mind would wander immediately to “what ifs” of a certain situation, and then fear would creep in.
The Lord helped me to recall things that “I did know”. Because I am a list maker and a visual learner, I grabbed my notebook and turned the page from all the information the doctors had just delivered (which prompted my list of things “I did not know”) and I began my new list of what “I did know”.
It went with her everywhere… my daughter’s baby blanket was her security for years. They did everything together. She even named it “Bobbie.” When the blanket was over-loved, I repaired it several times. Eventually, it was packed in a family memory box.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes it is hard for me to keep believing. I pray and believe, but then I look at what I can see around me. My faith falters. My fears escalate. Doubt creeps in.
In storms of life… fear escalates… becoming more intense.
When out of your element, in a storm, the enemy has an advantage… fear is a strong weapon.
Do you know what to do in that situation?
Too many men: God, what are you thinking? The enemy are 135,000 strong (Judges 8:10) and Israel has a mere 32,000 (7:3). You want all who are afraid to turn back? And guess what—22,000 did just that. Oh Lord!
My little dog, Buddy, was recently attacked by a much bigger and stronger dog. The veterinarian performed surgery to save Buddy's life. He had a wickedly long incision on his underside. The veterinarian told me to let him know if the incision became infected.
They tried everything they could to reduce her fever. Witch hazel. An ice bath. They knew a doctor was the best decision to save their daughter’s life. With no phone and no vehicle, they did the only thing they could.
“Run as fast as you can to the doctor’s house. Ask him to come with his medicine kit. Whatever you do, don’t stop running!”
By reputation, Job’s character was exemplary: Job was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion (1:1, MSG). There was “no one on earth like him” (1:8). Now that’s saying something.
They tried everything they could to reduce her fever. Witch hazel. An ice bath. They knew a doctor was the best decision to save their daughter’s life. With no phone and no vehicle, they did the only thing they could.
