Plan One: Fearing, Loving, & Trusting GodExemplo

A DIFFERENT KIND OF FEAR

I have never seen horror “slasher” movies like Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street. The main character and villain in the latter film is Freddy Krueger, who, with just one look, elicits the type of fear the filmmakers intended.

I do not recommend you see such a film. However, for illustration purposes, let’s suppose my wife and I went to see a movie in this genre. Upon leaving the theater and getting into the car, we would check to ensure no one was in the back seat. I would ensure all my doors and windows are locked upon arriving home. I would make sure all exterior lights were on, and I would probably wake up that evening to every creaky sound in the house.

I’m not exactly sure how I would respond, but I know what I would NOT say. Upon leaving that theater, I would not turn to my wife and say, “After seeing that movie, I think Freddy Krueger loves me.”

Unlike the fear in a horror film that instills dread, alarm, panic, and likely terror, the Bible’s reference to fear of the Lord holds a completely different meaning.

• Rather than a fear that causes us to hide or dread, it is a fear gift wrapped in the love of God (“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him”).
• Rather than a fear that causes us to check the locks of our windows and doors, it is a fear that protects and cares for us (“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them”).
• Rather than a fear that drives us away from God, the fear of the Lord is a fear that engenders God’s compassion and draws us to Him (“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him”).

I encourage you to read Psalm 128 and discover God’s many blessings as you learn the Biblical way to fear the Lord.