Learning To Fear The LORD

As father’s Day approaches, I am reminded of the safety of Dad. After all, if daddy is afraid, who are the children to turn to? The writers of the Bible knew this fact. That's why Proverbs 14:26 says, "His children will have a refuge," if Daddy has a "strong confidence." Daddy's confidence is the refuge of his children. Dads, the battle to be confident is not just about us, it is about the security of our children. It is about their sense of security and happiness. It's about whether they grow up fretful or firm in faith. Until children can know God in a deep personal way, we are the image and the embodiment of God in their lives. If we are confident and reliable and safe for them, they will be much more likely to cleave to God as their refuge when the storms break over them later.

So how shall we have "strong confidence"? After all, we, too, are little children, clay pots, weak and broken and battling anxieties and doubts. Is the solution to put on the best show we can and hide our true selves? That will lead to ulcers at best and God-dishonoring teenager-repelling hypocrisy at worst. That is not the answer.

Proverbs 14:26 gives another answer: "In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence." This is weird. It says that the solution to fear is fear. The solution to timidity is fear. The solution to uncertainty is fear. The solution to doubt is fear. But how?

Part of the answer is that the "fear of the Lord" means fearing to dishonor the Lord. Which means fearing to distrust the Lord. Which means fearing to fear anything that the Lord has promised to help you overcome. In other words, the fear of the Lord is the great fear destroyer.

If the Lord says, "Fear not, I am with you, be not dismayed, I will help you," (Isaiah 41:10), then it is a fearful thing to worry about the problem he says he will help you with.

Who are you to fear any problem, when God has promised to help you? So it is prideful to fear problems. And pride is the exact opposite of the fear of God.

So, yes, the Proverb is true and a great help to us. Fear God, dads. Fear God. Fear dishonoring Him. Fear distrusting Him. Fear putting your assessment of the problem above His. He says he can help. He is smarter. He is stronger. He is more generous. Trust Him. Fear not to trust Him.

No Fear

I have decided that I will use the 23rd Psalm for my message at Crestview this Sunday. I am going to concentrate on verse 5 only.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.”

The symbolism is wonderful, but then everything about the 23rd Psalm is wonderful. It is why it is our favorite Psalm. But in studying for that one verse, I noticed something else.

In verse 4, David says that “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Now, if you read the first three verses, you will notice that David is using the third person to describe his relationship with God. Then suddenly, in verse 4, it shifts to the first person. The Lord is my Shepherd…He leads me to still waters…He causes me to lie down…etc. Then in verse 4, he says, “for You are with me.” Why the shift? Simple. We have nothing to fear, not even death.

What are we afraid of? Death. Embarrassment. Crisis. Actually, a study done before 9/11 by Newsweek listed the third greatest fear of Americans as being the fear of public speaking. 4th was death. I can’t remember the first two; just that public speaking was higher than death. That has probably changed post 9/11. #1 Fear in America? A Muslim on an airplane.

The point is that we have nothing to fear. Why? Because He is with us. David got to this part about the shadow of death and realized that God is always with us and we have nothing to fear, so he switches the tense and is reassured that God never forsakes us or leaves us. “You are with me” emphasizes the relational character of Jesus. God doesn’t care about offering, or rituals, or sacrifice. (See Psalm 40:6) What He does desire…no, require…is a personal relationship with Jesus. And Jesus said, “Lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” It’s Lo, by the way, not low, even though the valley is a low time.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death is a real place in the Kidron Valley. It is actually called the Valley of Shadows. (It sounds like something off Shock Theater. "Boris Karloff staring in The Valley of Shadows.") The valley is so deep and the crevasses so narrow, that the only time light gets to the bottom is during the midday, for about a half an hour while the sun is directly overhead.

But even here, in a place that some would refer to as “God forsaken”, David knew that God was there with him. What is the opposite of fear? Peace. What is peace? It is not the absence of trouble, fear, or worry. Peace is simply the presence of God. “You are with me.”

Blessings
Steve