LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Fear of God
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 1:7).
In our days, the fear of misfortunes, accidents, fires and even death, has replaced the fear of God. The innumerable fears that besiege man today plunge his existence into constant threat, but, even so, he does not turn his eyes to God for refuge.
The fear of God has been disappearing from man as he has been able to give a scientific explanation to the strange and supernatural. Our ancestors trembled before God because of earthquakes and thunder, for they saw in it a sign of His displeasure. Man trembled in the darkness of the night before the vast firmament. Helplessness before the fierce nature plunged him into a sense of smallness and precariousness.
We still experience some of this when we are in the countryside, far from civilization, and the elements of nature are unleashed. Very mitigated, of course, because we know that it is only an emergency and that it will end soon. We experience something similar when the power goes out on a stormy night, and a faint light illuminates the environment, but these experiences are not enough to mark the fear of God in the heart of man! What a healthy fear of those childhood nights, in the middle of the storm, listening to the mother or grandmother telling stories of the countryside!
Today presumption and pride reign. The abundance of bread left over on the table, the blinding light at night, the unbridled music, the permanent TV show, exempt us from the solemn language of nature, and from the holy fear of God. Today the impudence reigns, the cynicism of the successful man, who laughs with contempt at the simple faith of those who fear God. Oh, blessed faith and holy fear!
When we read of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob living in tents, as strangers and pilgrims, exposed to evil men, sleeping under the stars, hearing the roaring of the lion and the howling of jackals in the night, then we find that the fear of God and obedience was the sentiment of their pious souls, who hoped in God for everything.
Oh, that we may be filled with the fear of God, that we may not sin against him, and that we may not condescend to sin! How we need to see ourselves exposed, insecure, vulnerable, to walk before God in holy fear, and to please him!
I need the fear of God every day. I need to know that, if I do not tremble before Him, there will be no bread on my table, no joy in my house, that my children will have no peace, and that they will be exposed to countless dangers. Oh blessed insecurity, which leads me to hope in God every day, to look to Him for all my resources! I do not want to free my soul from insecurity and fear. They keep it clean from all pride, and keep it always very close to God.