#8: The Fear of the Lord

The "Fear" of God is mentioned 490 times in the bible and many people still interpreted this as pure literal terror or horror. However, “The Hebrew word translated into 'awe' in the Bible is yirah (יראה, pronounced yir-ah). It often directly translates into fear, like “fear of the Lord,” but it can also mean respect, reverence, and worship.” (Firm). Fearing God does not mean being afraid of Him. God is the pure form of love.

Just like a parent disciples their child so that they can learn, God does the same with us. He asks for our respect, just as a parent does of their child. A loving parent does not invoke fear, instead they lead with a strong hand in the right way that the child should go. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 ESV). The child can always rebel. But everything has its consequences whether good or bad. 

So God isn’t asking us to be scared of Him, He’s asking us to respect Him. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT). God does not ask for you to be terrified of Him, He does not promote terror. He asks for respect, He doesn’t need it though. God doesn’t need anything from us, but He does want it.

Have a blessed day!! 🤍

~ Darina