Afraid of God, or in Awe of God?
by Peter Brokaar
More and more we’re understanding how the fear of the LORD is the key to His treasure. It brings us into that place where we love Him, respect Him, worship Him and want to draw near to Him. It makes us hate sin, evil and everything else that’s bad. It brings us health, hope, holiness and everything that’s good. However, ironically, being afraid of God is one of the biggest hindrances to the genuine, rightful ‘fear’ or ‘awe’ of God. Being afraid causes us to keep our distance, hide from Him, and brings us to a place where we dare not hope for His mercy. So rather than bowing before Him in worship, and trusting in His mercy, we end up in the position of turning our backs to Him, fearing punishment and being cut off from His love.
Do we trust or mistrust? That’s the question I would like to ask today. Can we trust that God is who He says He is? Can it be true that He really loves us and longs to give us His mercy? Perhaps there are many experiences in life as well as emotions inside which would tell us differently. They tell us that trusting isn’t safe, that we can’t be sure, that we’re better off guarding ourselves, protecting ourselves and controlling our circumstances.
Yet the Bible speaks of different things. Throughout God’s Word, the record of His dealings with mankind, we can see a God who is reliable, safe, forgiving, merciful and above all: always the same. We can see that God is both perfect and immutable - He can’t change. He always is, has been and will be Himself: The Eternal, Almighty, Merciful and loving Father of mankind.
Our prayer for today is that despite our difficulties, experiences, emotions and thoughts, He’ll help us to put our trust in Him. Thank God that He can’t lie. He’ll be trustworthy forever. You don’t need to be afraid of Him.
Prayer: Thank You, Father, that You can’t change and You’ll will be the same forever. Lord, You’re the only One in whom I can safely put my trust. Will You help me to draw near to You today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Peter Brokaar is Director of Ellel Ministries Scotland and has been there together with his wife Liz since 2005. They have 3 kids, all born in Scotland! In his free time he likes reading, cooking, running and surfing. Being at Ellel Scotland has given him the privilege of getting to know God deeper and sharing that joy with many others.
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