There are two kinds of fears that exist. Godly fear, which also can be described as reverence towards the Almighty God and worldly fear which comes from fearing the consequence of sin in our lives and also not knowing and trusting in the living God. The two are total opposites and as Christians and children of the Almighty God we need to hold fast to only one of the two fears and that is to have reverence towards our Holy God. Fear is good, only if it is the right kind. The word of God clearly explains to us whom we should fear and why. God Almighty the maker of heaven and earth is the only one we should fear, not because He is scary or this horrible God who desires to destroy everyone but because we love and respect Him and the authority He has over our lives. God is ultimately in control over our lives on earth and of course it is all in His hands where we will spend eternity. Our final destination is in God’s hands but we have a huge part in where we will spend eternity as well. We choose if we want to submit ourselves to God, love Him, and obey His commandments or not to fear the consequence of our sins and just live onto our flesh and serve it’s evil desires, which will take us away from the presence of our holy God and forfeit us from entering heaven. A very good verse in the bible which explains to us whom we should fear and why is Matthew 10:28 ” And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Godly fear is what God has called every Christian to hold fast to so he or she will be successful in their walk with Christ. Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” A wise man will fear God and heed His voice and seek to know His will and submit to it with reverence. Our wisdom in life comes from fearing God. Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever.” Having Godly fear brings forth peace in a Christian’s life because you do not fear any obstacle that comes your way because you know God’s in control. Psalm 27:1 “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” When a person fears God and chooses to walk in His ways he is confident that God is with him and God’s protection is on his life. Proverbs 1:33 “But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.” Another great verse which gives us confidence not to fear lives challenges if we are walking right with God is Proverbs 2:7-8 “7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.” This does not mean that as God fearing Christians we will not have troubles in life but at least we will have peace that we are walking right with God and that He is in control and that He knows what’s best for us. Having confidence in Christ brings forth victory in All circumstances that come our way…Let us therefore pray to God to establish His Godly fear in our lives so we can be the children of God He has called us to be. Amen! Proverbs 14:26-27 “26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.”
I would like to share with you my thoughts on different examples of what worldly fear can be. A good example of worldly fear is a Christian who does not live in Godly fear but is living totally in sin and has no peace at all but instead has fear of the consequence and penalty of his or her sins. This is where fear of death kicks in as well. A Christian deep inside knows that if they are living in continual sin the consequence is not going to be good on earth or after they die. That is if they continue living in sin without making an attempt of repenting from it. This type of fear can torment a person. The fear of sin being exposed is another example of worldly fear. Those who sin undercover always live in fear that their sin is going to be revealed. This too can torment a person just like the fear of the consequence of one’s sins. As you can see there is no peace whatsoever in worldly fear.
Another example of worldly fear is not trusting in God with our daily lives and having fear in every trial that comes our way just like those who do not have Christ in their lives fear. The world fears when they lose their job, or get diagnosed with some sort of illness because they do not have the hope and the promises that we as children of God have. The world fears of what they will eat or what they will wear or if they will be able to pay their rent at the end of the month but God promises in His word that if we seek His kingdom and His righteousness that everything else shall be given unto us.
Matthew 6:25-33 “
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”
The world also fears that they can’t overcome any kind of sickness or disease and that once they are diagnosed it’s over for them. That fear by itself can torment and kill a person. But if we choose to believe in His word which states that by His stripes we are healed and not fear what the doctor’s have diagnosed then we will wait on God with peace in our hearts for His will to happen in our lives. 1 Peter 2:24 “24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
These are just several of the many types of worldly fears that exist. But the concept is the same that not knowing God and not trusting in Him equals to falling into the category of worldly fear. Do not be discouraged if as a Christian you see yourself falling into any of these worldly fear catagories because I myself as a Christian have seen myself in more than one of the above examples. Even the disciples of Christ who actually saw Jesus and had Jesus with them during a storm feared for their lives. Peter a mighty disciple of Christ whom Christ build is church on even feared for his life and denied his Lord three times. But after Christ’s death and resurrection the disciples grew to another level with their relationship with Christ and Godly fear was actually being established in them. My fellow brothers and sisters it is a process in every Christians life, the more we know our Lord the more we will fear Him the right way and the more we will trust Him with our lives. Help us Lord! Amen…
Proverbs 14:2 “ He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD, But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.”
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