Running away from fearing God

I have often run away from fearing God even though this phenomena is often spoken about and recommended in the bible (especially, but not exclusively, in the Old Testament). This running means that I am not very used to experiencing the fear of God, fully and honestly, and I don’t even like the thought of getting used to fearing God this way. Why do I run? First, and superficially, because fearing God sounds so very old-fashioned and often just plain embarrassing – seemingly part of an ‘old’ and crazy world of fire and brimstone, rage-driven preachers, and so on. Second, and more profoundly, because fearing God, seems on the face of it, to be the worst ever kind of fear – to be in fear and awe of the most powerful force in the universe. That is, the creator of it all, who knows my every-ways, and will now, and in the future, ask me the most searching questions about what I did and didn’t do/think/feel/and choose! However, despite these very good reasons for running away from my fear of God, I am starting to see that my faith will  get me into a place where I can openly and honestly fear God as a starting point, but not to finish there. Once I accept, in faith, that God is not only the ultimate power in the universe, but also the perfect Love that drives out all fear (1 John 4:18), I know then that my relationship with him is joyful and not dreadful. So I can face and feel this fear fully and openly, and, surprisingly given the power of God, without becoming overwhelmed or petrified. I should be in the state of the latter, given the reality of God the creator and me the created who falls short in so many ways, but God wants me not to be overwhelmed or petrified. He wants me to approach him with complete confidence, albeit after experiencing complete fear and awe, fully reconciled to him by my acknowledging the sacrifice that he made for me by becoming human and dying on the cross (Romans 8: 1-17). Believing that he died for me to show his love for me means I need not fear him anymore. Through this faith, I can then consciously and fully accept who I am and so be entirely peaceful and secure – protected by the all-powerful all-loving force who is also now the God who is my father.

Click on book cover image on this blog's home page for information on my book Nine Steps to Well-Being: A Spiritual Guide for Disconnected Christians and Other Questioning Journeyers - first three chapters are FREE!!