by Cathy Phillips

Created on: September 28, 2009

I believe the Bible teaches us that to "fear God" is the beginning of wisdom. Our society has placed so much emphasis on the negative connotation of the word 'fear' that we forget its true meaning. Following is a simplified version of Webster's varied meanings of the word.

Fear: 1) dread, terror, fright 2) respectful, awe, reverence 3) apprehension 4) to expect with misgiving or suspect.

I think these first three meanings should enter into our heads when we think of God. I think that meaning #4 is a result of the sinful nature of our human minds. Perhaps, we should be frightened of His wrath, but this is where most people stop. They do not consider all the aspects of God. They keep God in their own little framework of a scary, mean father-type being who only wants to punish us for something.

If you can open your mind to reading more about God in His own love letter to the world, The Bible, you may discover that God is also someone to be respected, to stand in awe of, and to reverence. He is not only deserving of these attributes from us, but when get to know Him we actually begin to feel these things towards God. At this point, He promises that He will then send His wisdom to us. What a promise! Who wants an extra dose of wisdom to live by? Most everyone I know would enjoy having some kind of extra knowing that is outside the realm of their own thinking. This is godly wisdom that is freely given by God Himself.

Now to meaning #3: Apprehension. Yes, I think it may be healthy to see God with a little apprehension. After all, we cannot see or touch Him physically, or hear Him audibly. This is a strange thought at first to the human mind. It actually takes what some people call a 'leap' because you have to kind of let go of the limits of your own mind in order to open up to something much larger. Namely, God. This leap of faith is where the apprehension can be for many people. When they begin to actually communicate with the God of the universe, they may feel apprension, fear and reverance all at the same time. When you begin to listen to what God is speaking back through this communcative experience called prayer, you begin to be more in awe of the great love and joy and wisdom you may experience. Yes, He really does have all the answers to your questions. Even if the answer may be "Wait," much of the time.

The fear, sense of awe, respect and reverence that the Bible tells us is a crucial part of how we need to see God can really only come through a relationship with Him. Yes, we can get to know Him, however limited, more that we know Him at this moment. Many people throughout history have claimed to know the Father and do great miracles by cooperating what what He wanted to do here on earth. Jesus is the best example of this. Jesus said that if we could know him, then we could get to know the Father, just as he did. I think that Jesus' only fear of God in the dreaded sense, was fear of NOT DOING what God wanted him to do. Therein lies the challenge for mankind. If we get to know God and what he part He wants us each to play on this earth, then we will have to make a decision to obey that or not. The choice of how you fear God is up to you.

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