Do You Have an Unhealthy Fear of the Lord?
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."
