A couple of weeks ago, I panicked. After reading some random comments about God on a webpage, I suddenly got the sense I wasn’t good enough for God. I became stressed, thinking, “I needed to be the keeper of my faith.” I thought if I didn’t perform well enough for God, He wouldn’t want me. Or, if I didn’t do enough “make-God-happy” stuff, He wouldn’t bless me. It terrified me, shook me and got me thinking about his truth.
With the space of days, I began to see clearly from the woods.
Here, I noticed:
– God doesn’t speak like an accuser.
– Condemnation is not the sound of His voice.
– Conviction is his method, but truth spoken in love is always his manner.
Understanding these dynamics about God offered me a deep breath. And a baseline for the judgments and critiques coming against me. This was important because I desperately wanted to let in what was from God and let go of what wasn’t. We all want this, don’t we?
But how?
After much searching, I was left with one realization, described in 4-words: fear of the Lord.
I must have a healthy fear of the Lord. Not an unhealthy one.
An unhealthy “Fear of the Lord” thinks:
– God will get me and ruin me if I do bad.
– God has a heavenly taser ready to zap me.
– If I do good, God will be good to me.
– If I act like a bad girl, God will desert me and go on to the next girl.
– Doubt and complacency is okay because it keeps me from sinning and making Him angry.
– Father might take from me and give to the next girl if I keep making mistakes.
– My vulnerability with God opens me up to getting hurt.
– I need to panic and stinkin’ figure things out, ASAP.
Healthy fear of the Lord thinks:
- To know God is better than life.
- Allowing His Word to become my words restructures my life.
- Contesting and detesting sin and its power to hold me back reenables my life.
- To hope in the Lord and to believe Him at His Word re-energizes my life.
- To trust in Him and to rest under His love renews my life.”The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to avoid the snares of death.” Prov. 14:27
“He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.” Ps. 145:19
Kelly’s new book, Fear Fighting: Awakening Courage to Overcome Your Fears has been called “A must read,” “Breathtakingly honest” and a “Great Toolbox to Overcome Fear.” Read it today.
Discover how to flee from fear and fly in faith through 4 Days to Fearless Challenge.
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So glad you found your way into truth on this one, Kelly!
Blessings to you!
A healthy fear of the Lord is reverence for who He is. Happy Thanksgiving!
Amen, friend. I have had to stop and re-research the truth as well when voices and tones get into my head and heart and try to convince me of things. I am so glad you shared this. Because many who think they are doing God a favor by saying things in a way that either tells only half the truth, or is right but not said in love and gentleness — can easily harm people. I know we all fail at this from time to time, but we can always look how he’s forgiven us and remember his basis for everything is love, mercy, and hope. Bless you Kelly.
Love these truths! God’s voice is always rooted in love. Anything else is not Him. Amen!
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Healthy fear of the Lord drives us to the Lord (not away).
It is a fear of trying to live without Him.
It is a fear of trying to deal with our sin without Him.
It is a fear that keeps us humble. We abide in His love, but He is so much higher than we are, and we depend on His rich mercy and grace. Our standing is not our own, it comes entirely from Christ, and we wouldn’t dare come before God apart from Christ. There is no room for us to get presumptuous with God, though we can come boldly to Him – especially when we need mercy for our times of sin and grace in our times of temptation!
Thanks for sharing what the Lord has put on Your Heart!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ben
“A heavenly taser ready to zap you.” Haha. 😉 I laugh only because I can relate! I lived the first half of my life under this premise. Not fun when you think someone is watching your every move, just waiting for you to mess up, so He can get you.
Great message today, Kelly!
Thank you for showing the difference between healthy and unhealthy fear of the Lord. Maree
I agree with Maree. God is not a monster to fear. It means reverence and respect, although I would hate to be a lost soul. Jesus took His wrath for us, He is pleased with us only because of Jesus, we would never be good enough.