Fear the Lord and Fear Not; Awe and Reverence for GodSample

God Often uses Fear to Wake Us Up and Reset Our Life

You may have heard the phrase: "the Holy Spirit comforts the afflicted but afflicts the comfortable." God sometimes uses fear and discomfort in our life to get our attention, wake us up, and reset our course back into His way. This can create some anxiety in life, and then we have a choice to make; do we trust God and do it His way, or do we plunge ahead in our own plans? Have you ever had the experience of realizing that you wish you would have listened to the Lord in the first place, so you wouldn't be in the jumbled mess you made?

• Psalm 56:3-4 "When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?"
• Jonah 1:4-5 "Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god."

The more we fear God, the more we trust Him. We develop a one-to-one relationship that has the strongest bond possible; that of the connection Jesus created for us by His obedience to His Father. He built the bridge whereby we can pass over death and disaster. We must become sensitive to the leading of the Spirit so that we follow His guidance and leading. He will never lead us in the wrong direction!

So, as we spend more time with God, our reverence and awe grow. Our anxiety and terror over worldly concerns diminishes and should fade under our growing trust in God's provision and wisdom. This is why fear (reverence and awe) of the Lord is linked to praise, and we are free from the fear (pain and punishment) of our circumstances. So, the more we choose to spend time with God, the more we will know Him; and the more we will fear Him and learn not to be afraid.

• Revelation 1:17 "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last."
• Matthew 14:27 "But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
• Romans 8:15 "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba Father."

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! His wisdom is beyond understanding, and we can trust Him to know exactly where He is taking us. Give Him your praise and thanks, and rest in His care.