Have you ever been alone in the basement, in the dark, and found yourself hurrying upstairs for no other reason than the creepy feeling welling up in you? Have you ever been most of the way up the stairs of a daring water slide at the waterpark and looked down to discover an uneasy feeling in your stomach that made it hard to take another step? Have you ever been surprised by a harmless spider in the shower that brought out a scream of terror? Does my mentioning a spider in the shower make you shiver a bit? Have you ever had a son or daughter be a few minutes past curfew, causing your mind to fill with the worst what-ifs?
We are all familiar with fear in one way or another. But we are most familiar with fear as a negative thing. It is something to avoid, something to overcome. We are told to face our fears like the playground bully. Fear can be crippling, it can lie to us, and it can lead us to places of worry and doubt. But fear can also be life-giving. Fear can also be our best friend. Rather than the playground bully, it can be the wise gym teacher helping us navigate the halls of life.
The Bible is full of commands to fear not—this is true—but it is also full of commands to fear. We should have a fear of the Lord. The way these seemingly contradictory thoughts come together is that having a fear of the Lord is how we overcome all other fears.
Christian, pay attention—there is a type of fear we should have. Therefore, we need to be careful in all the negative talk about fear to not neglect fear altogether, or forget that there is a good kind of fear. A life-changing, wisdom-birthing, worship-stirring kind of fear. A fear that gives us a bigger view of God, and that big view of God changes how we see everything else. This is a fear that is both commended and commanded in scripture. It must not be neglected. It is the very beginning point of wisdom, the key to right living. Having this fear leads to wise decision-making in everyday life, and not having this fear leads to, well, stupidity, foolishness, poor choices, heartache, and regret—things like living your own truth and impulse-buying stuff off infomercials late at night.
The saying of “no fear” that lands on t-shirts is stupid—don’t buy those shirts. Not being afraid of the Lord is not courage, it is foolishness of the worst kind. We should not boast about no fear, but instead find comfort in fear rightly directed. We don’t need to fear that a poisonous snake is waiting under our bed to bite our ankles when we go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, or that we might freeze up during our big presentation. We don’t need to fear not making the team or getting the job. We don’t need to fear cancer, rejection, or failure. The list can go on. There are all kinds of fears, some silly and some serious, and they are all bidding for a place in our thoughts, like a timeshare pitch: Entertain me once for a lifetime commitment. If we entertain the fears of this world, they will continue to want to visit the real estate in our minds like people who own it for that little bit of time. But the fear of the Lord is different. It is a fear, and should be, but a life-giving fear, like standing on top of a mountain. To look down will terrify you, but to look out will be a breathtaking view. Your knees should shake—you are on top of a mountain—but how else would you get such a perspective? It is a fear that puts all other fears in their place and provides the view needed to navigate this life.
The fear of the Lord is a big deal, according to the roughly 300 verses that tell us so. It is absolutely essential. It is not just the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7), but it is also the path to walk for all of life (Proverbs 19:23). But do you have it? I’m not asking whether you believe in God, but do you fear him?
Some have tried to twist this truth with modern therapeutic counsel, undermining the idea that a God so full of love should also be feared. They treat God more like the grandpa who sneaks you candy than the one who authors hurricanes and makes great white sharks. In an attempt to feel more comfortable, we neglect the very starting point of wisdom, and instead pass out pacified Bible hugs with most of the pages torn out. Or, we supply people with a theology that is like comfortable house socks—they feel great on our feet, but aren’t going to cut it when you have to walk across the gravel road of life.
My concern is that something so crucial as the fear of the Lord has become something neglected. Could it be that the fear of the Lord has become undervalued for us? Is the fear of the Lord something you could grow in? How would you go about doing that?
I was struck by a verse recently. Actually, it was one particular word within the verse that did the striking this time. The verse was Psalm 111:10, and here’s what it says:
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”
How do you practice fear? I understand the idea of practice when it comes to sports or playing an instrument, but I must admit it’s not something I have thought of when it comes to the fear of the Lord. We often think of the fear of the Lord as something you either have or you don’t have. But the idea of practicing it communicates the idea of improving it. If I practice piano, the expectation is to get better at piano. If I practice the fear of the Lord, will I get better at the fear of the Lord? And what will getting better at the fear of the Lord mean for my life?
According to this verse, it means a good understanding and an enduring praise. But what if you don’t practice the fear of the Lord? Will it lead to an ever-blurring understanding, uncertainty, doubt, crippling questions, and worries? A very fragile praise that any hardship can break to pieces, or turn into anger, bitterness, or depression? Does spiritual apathy set in, like a muscle that hasn’t gotten used over time? If those symptoms sound familiar, would we even think to diagnose the problem as being out of practice when it comes to the fear of the Lord? Would a therapist treat those symptoms with a prescription of a steady diet of worship?
We can’t just agree with the command to fear the Lord, nor can we equate believing in God as the same as fearing him. The fear of the Lord has to be something we practice. So, how do we practice the fear of the Lord?
How do you practice basketball? By playing basketball. How do you practice singing? By singing. How do you practice cooking? By cooking. And we practice so we are ready for the game, ready for the concert, ready for the coming guests. Repetition is a part of development, and development is a part of success. We practice the fear of the Lord by expressing the fear of the Lord. It’s an ongoing part of life. We go to church. We sing our hearts out to God, expressing praise to him. We read our Bibles to be reminded of His works and wonders. We pray. We look up at the sky in awe as it declares the glory of God. The fear of the Lord is a muscle that needs to be worked out, kept in shape, so that when understanding is called for in the midst of the lies of this world, or when temptation presents itself, or when praise needs to be expressed in the midst of hardship, we are ready. We are practiced up. We are in spiritual shape for the task at hand.
What if, when it comes to really thriving for God in this world, it’s not that you don’t want to, it’s just that you are out of shape? You want to make the right choice, say the right thing, but you are just out of practice.
Have you ever seen someone attempt something only to reveal how out of practice they are? The dad who used to be quite the athlete gets challenged by his now-teenage son, only to show everyone that it’s been a long time since he’s shot a basketball. Is that you when it comes to the fear of the Lord? It’s not that you don’t fear God at all; it’s just been a long time since you have. You believe in God, but it’s been a long time since you’ve been on your knees in prayer. You believe in God, but it’s been a long time since you sang his praise at the top of your lungs with your arms stretched wide. You believe in God, but it’s been a long time since you’ve wept over the pages of his Word. You believe in God, but it’s been a long time since you’ve confessed sin and experienced real fellowship. If that describes you, are you ready, not for the playful challenge from a teenage son, but for the flaming arrows of the enemy?
If the devil prowls around like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), what do you think he is looking for? Wounded faith. The weakling in the herd. The spiritually out-of-shape. The one who, when it comes to worship, is out of practice. We must not be people who just claim to fear the Lord, we need to be people who practice the fear of the Lord, who constantly reinforce the size and sovereignty of our God to our own minds like a workout that is routinely done, building up the muscle of awe and wonder toward our God. We must stay captivated by Him, reminding our own hearts that God is bigger, that he is better, that he alone is worthy of our fear.
Follower of Jesus, if you want to be ready for game-time situations, don’t neglect practice. May we be people who don’t just fear the Lord but actually practice the fear of the Lord through frequent expressions of praise and constant reminders of how big and awesome our God is.