Rightful Fear

As I was walking my dog a few weeks ago, I chose to step off the trail to make room for a couple of kids riding past on bicycles. This is not an unusual occurrence. My dog is cautious of bicycles and will often try to lunge in a fearful aggression which is why I leave room for others to pass by.

This particular day, the bicyclists were taking their time, so we stood on the side of the trail for a few minutes. As we waited, I gazed into the woods and noticed a small ribbon snake about a foot and a half long a short distance away. It startled me, but then I reacted in horror as I observed it was in the process of eating a live toad about three times its size. I am not naïve about these things; even snakes need to eat, and they don’t exactly eat fruit and nuts.

What horrified me was the slow, agonizing process as the toad’s legs passively twitched in helpless desperation as it was consumed.

A strong feeling of trepidation and distress followed me the rest of the day. I became curious as to why the image made such a strong impression, and so I prayed about it.

It felt like a stern warning of how sin can slowly consume us while we sometimes only weakly resist.

As I prayed for the Lord to reveal my sin to me (trust me there is plenty of it), I alternately felt crushed by the weight of it and ever so grateful for God’s patience with me and for how His grace has been poured out in my life.

The sin I felt most convicted of was fear. Fear of the world. Fear of man. Fear more of appearing judgmental and harsh toward others than I fear for them for the consequences of their sin (or my own).

Now, I have scoured the “sin lists” in the New Testament and fear is not listed there. I’ve read that the command “do not fear” is included in the Bible 365 times, but I’ve never taken the time to count or verify that statement, perhaps you have. The first time this emotion is discussed is just following the Fall in Adam’s response to the LORD’s call. Adam responded, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10, ESV).

Fear was an appropriate emotion here for Adam, but hiding from the LORD is NOT a proper response for sin. Unconfessed sin can snare and imprison. Thankfully, unlike us, God sees and knows all. This is actually really good news.

Toward the end of his life, the apostle Peter warns the church: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kind of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9, ESV).

This is the verse that came to mind as my thoughts returned to that toad, and it provided a powerful illustration for me. Our emotions are not sinful, in and of themselves. They can be indicative of something wrong in us or our circumstances resulting from poor choices. They can also show us something we are holding more dearly than our relationship with the LORD. Sin can also appear in what we think about the emotion or in how we respond in words and in action.

In this case, fear can subtly arise from a well-worn soundtrack that subconsciously plays out over and over in our minds as we lose sight of God’s goodness and anticipate the worst. It can result in poor coping behaviors, restlessness, emotional paralysis, and even inaction. It is a favorite deception of the evil one to cause fear in the heart of the believer to subtly draw the focus toward him and away from God.

Rightful Fear

Now, not all fear is bad. The wisdom literature of the Old Testament teaches us that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom (Job 1:1, 42:1-6; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10; Ecclesiastes 12:1, 12:9-14) . This wisdom instructs us to avoid sin in submission to the glorious will of our heavenly Father. This rightful fear, which can also be described as a sort of reverence and awe, is what motivates us to reject sin, do good and honor our Father in heaven with our thoughts, words, and actions.

Peter speaks of this in the verse immediately preceding his warning when he reminds the beleaguered church: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7, ESV).  

We may still become fearful, possibly even daily, but the LORD cares for us in our anxieties and fears when we rightly fear Him, turning to, and entrusting our very souls to Him. To fear the LORD is to daily reject sin, turn to Him in repentance and prayer when we do sin, and to persevere in doing good for He is good and sovereign over all creation. He will calm our fears with faith when we ask Him to do so.

I pray today that the fear you experience is the rightful fear of the LORD, soaked in godly wisdom, and that it motivates you to right action.

Peace. Alison

Photo credit: Jacob Wackerhausen on istock.com