In the March 2016 issue of Smithsonian, Mai McCoy relates her memory of leaving Vietnam at age 6. Arriving on the Malaysian peninsula, they were greeted by soldiers wielding machine guns. It would have been easy for Mai to live in fear for the rest of her life. Instead, she is now part of a thriving and prosperous Vietnamese community in Oklahoma City.
Fear can motivate us in ways nothing else can. If we’ve been hungry as a child, we keep a well-stocked pantry, even if we can never consume all the food. Once homeless, we place our house payment above even urgent medical care. Abandoned, and we accept love from abusive spouses, drug dealers, and pimps.
What is fear’s place in religion? 1 Kings 8:40 tells us:
“That [Israel] may fear you all the days that they live in the land which you gave unto our fathers.”
In the time of Solomon, Israel already had a reputation of doing whatever they wanted to do. Follow after God? If it was convenient. Chase foreign gods? Hey, yeah! If it feels good, do it.
There had to be a better way, some method of focusing the people of God on the paths he wanted them to walk. So, what was Solomon really saying in this verse? Were the people to cower in fear before the Lord, their armpits damp, and sweat pooling on their brow? Is that what God wants from his people, for us to live in anticipation of his lightning strike on our head?
The answer lies in our relationship with our modern law enforcement system. If we drive down the road and see a police car monitoring our speed, we can wave, and the officer will respond in kind. She is there to protect us. We need have no fear of being chased without reason. It’s only when we’re breaking the law that our armpits become damp, and our forehead is covered in sweat. Our fear helps us follow the law, and that makes it safer for everyone on the road.
God wishes us to respect his authority over creation. Our fear is our awareness of his awesome power. It only kicks into play if we choose not to abide by his plan of salvation. If we’re walking with him, he’s there to give us direction, keep us safe from harm, and remove the bad guys from the street.
It’s the sinner who lives in fear. Forgiveness banishes fear. God is our righteous Father who wants to care for us as his creation and his children. When we see him in that light, we will feel comforted by his eternal presence.
When we give ourselves completely to the Father, our fear of his devastating power becomes a respectful reverence that is sweet for our God to behold.
Copyright © 2016 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.E.24.16a.vp.kjv