In that day he will be your sure foundation, providing a rich store of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD will be your treasure.

Isaiah 33:6

We don’t hear much these days about the fear of the Lord. In part, we avoid this language because it can be easily misconstrued, turning God into a vengeful tyrant whom we hope to avoid if at all possible. Sometimes churches and even parents use the fear of a wrathful God to try and motivate members and children to behave well. We have rightly rejected such a one-sided view of God, a view that overlooks his love and grace.

Yet in reaction to a mistaken notion of God’s scariness, we have at times turned him into a big pal, and little more. God is not a refining fire who consumes our sin, but an innocuous little campfire who warms our feet when we’re chilly. God is a “loving” friend who always approves of us and never expects us to do better. Such a lopsided picture of God misses the biblical vision of a God who is holy and merciful, just and justifying, demanding and loving.

Though we ought not to be afraid of God so that we avoid him, we must not minimize his majesty. Nor may we diminish his holiness. Biblical fear of the Lord brings us to our knees in worship, so that God might lift our faces and embrace us with his love. True fear of the Lord helps us never to forget that our Friend is also the King of kings, that the one who died for our sins is also the judge of our sins. Such fear is our treasure because it helps us to live wisely with God as our Sovereign, and because it reminds us of how blessed we are to have an intimate relationship with the Creator.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What does the phrase “the fear of the Lord” mean to you? Does it have negative connotations? Positive ones? How have you experienced the fear of the Lord in your life?

PRAYER: Holy and Gracious God, I’m not sure I always get what it means to fear you. It’s so easy for me to err on one side or the other. There have been times in my life when I have been afraid of you, when I have avoided you and worried that you wouldn’t want relationship with me. And there have been times, many times, I must confess, when I have treated you more like my little buddy than the holy God of the Universe.

Teach me, Lord, to live with a holy, truthful, healthy fear of you. May I never presume upon our relationship or live as if your holiness didn’t matter to me. May I come before you eagerly, knowing that you accept me in your grace. And may I come before you humbly, offering myself to you as my King. May a righteous fear of you be, indeed, my unexpected treasure. Amen.