The Right Type of Fear
Psalms 34:9 “O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.”
Have you ever gone around and around on an issue? I mean, you vacillated and procrastinated, and still you couldn’t make up your mind what you really wanted to do. Of course this got you nowhere, led you nowhere, and left you still desiring closure. So what keeps us in a vicious cycle of need? There is only one word to describe it: fear!
Believe me. I know all too well of how God will tell you to do something that you are no where close to being capable of pulling off—that thing that God has commissioned you to do that is not feasible, practical, or probable, yet it is the thing you must do. But no matter what, the biggest hurdle you will ever face to getting the job done is fear.
It is fear which causes us to dread situations that we will never see. This then leads to us explaining to God why we can’t do what He told us to do. But whatever we are facing, whatever we are fearing, our text tells us that there is only one thing that we should fear, and that is the Lord Himself.
When we fear what we think the outcome will be, then we exalt that thought, fear, or disbelief in God over His promise to perform His word. All the while, God is trying to move us as far as possible from failure and doom. He is not trying to move us toward lack; instead, He is trying to move us toward provision. You see, it’s our fear that keeps us stagnant and stifled right where we are. But it is the fear of the Lord that leads us into having “no wants.”
Now what about strategy and planning? Is there anything wrong with that? Of course not. Even Luke 14:28 tells us, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” There is nothing wrong with finding out what you need to complete the project. But the problem occurs when we rationally back out of doing what God has placed upon our hearts by focusing on what we don’t have instead of the God we do have.
If you can afford to do what God told you to do, fine. But if you can’t, that’s even better—because it is these times when you have to make a decision to fear God or the bill collector, to fear God or friends, or to fear God or the boss that test your faith. And it is these times that God consistently shows us that He can when we can’t. This is the reason that we should stop fearing what others say, think, or feel. It is our reverence, respect, and response to God that will take us out of want and lead us into a wealthy place.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.”