Command 23 : Fear God, Not Man | Day 155

Conquer Fear With Fear!

To this day I am impressed by an experiment I once saw. A mean-looking cat underwent a procedure that produced fear. Then, a little mouse was released, and the large cat recoiled in terror and fright! A mouse poses such a small threat to a cat that it is absurd to think of a cat being frightened by it. However, as Christians we often act in a similar irrational way when we allow ourselves to fear the wrong thing. Thus, we are commanded:

Command Twenty-Three: “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

Fear is not merely a human emotion; it is a powerful spiritual force that attacks one's physical, mental, and emotional responses. When we give in to fear of what others think of us, fear of bad things happening to us or to those we love, or fear of evil people, the effects of that fear will permeate our beings and eventually debilitate us. We must guard against this and remember: “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:7).

The key to conquering fear of man is to fear God. Do we need to fear God because He is bad? No, we fear Him because He is infinitely good! God is holy, and all of His dealings with man are just and right. (See Psalm 19:9.) When we have a proper reverence for the awesome power and might of God and recognize the fact that He is for us, we will be able to say with the psalmist, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” (Psalm 118:6).

The more we fear God, the less we will fear evil; however, the more we fear evil, the less we will fear God.

Learning to fear the Lord involves several aspects. First, we should fear Him because He is God and His holiness demands that the consequences of sin be paid. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23; see also Proverbs 16:6).

Secondly, fearing the Lord means we recognize the superiority of His ways (versus our "wisdom") and choose to make Him and His Word the final authority in our lives. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding" (Proverbs 9:10; see also Isaiah 55:8-9).

Finally, to fear the Lord is to remember that He is continually with us and is aware of every one of our thoughts, words, and actions. In the final analysis, it makes no difference whom we please if we displease the Lord. Solomon said it well: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

Are our lives characterized by a healthy fear of the Lord, or are we consumed with fear of man? Let's ask God to help us fear only Him, because “the fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil" (Proverbs 19:23).