The fear of God exalts a man
There is a misconstruing of the meaning or interpretation of the statement THE FEAR OF GOD. Many people have been overwhelmed with fear to the extent of becoming entangled or enslaved oneself in fear. I have come to let you know that the fear of God has nothing to do with being frightening of God, fear of getting in trouble, fear of harm, fear of being punished or even, fear of death.
However, the fear of God means to reverence and respect God. You would not like to offend someone who loves you or someone you love. It is a fear that comes out of love for the Father of all earthly fathers and your love towards the Father who loves you more than your own earthly father. It is a respect for the Lord our creator whom we offended every day and never ceases to forgive us. Why should we not fear to offend such benevolence God? You want to fear Him so that you will continue to enjoy His goodness for your life.
“If You Lord should mark iniquities o Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” (Ps. 130:3-4).
How do we fear God
We fear God when we His children submit totally to His will, by observing, respecting, and doing all that is written in the word of God:
- obeying His commandments,
- departing from all forms of evil
- doing according to His will.
- walk in the spirit (walking in His ways) and
- allowing Him to dictate the path we should follow in life.
The reason we need to diligently adhere to the above requirements is that He is our creator and the creator of the universe where we exist. Since He is the supreme ruler over all that exists, our fear of Him is to surrender our total being to Him.
Joseph refused the offer of fornication with his master’s wife; he knew his master would not know if he consented to his mistress’ request.
However, he realized that even though his master was not around, an Eye that sees the whole universe is watching him. The invisible eye of the omniscient and omnipresent God is watching him. Joseph sees this offense as not against his master but against God (Gen. 39).
On another occasion, Joseph said to his brothers before he revealed himself to them “Do this and you will live, for I fear God” (Gen. 42:18). Note, nothing is hidden from the Lord God who loves us and at the same time, He has judgment in his hand (2Cor. 5:10).
Any evil meted out for another human being shows lack of love and disrespect and this is against the will of God. Anything against the will of God is an offense against God. Hence Joseph said, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen.39:9). No wonder, the Lord was with Joseph.
The fear of God requires us to give high regard for the word of God
David, when he had the opportunity to kill his greatest enemy, King Saul, he refused to do it for conscience’s sake. He had a high regard for the Lord’s anointed king, and would not want to disrespect God’s representative, even though, Saul was seeking to take David’s life (1Sam. 24:4-7; 26:9). But David knew that vengeance belongs to God and not to man and would not avenge for himself. The scripture stated,
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord…Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:17-21)
He respected the word of God. Hence, David was more preferred as king than Saul.
Faithfulness is required of every human being as a mark of fear of God
We are steward to one thing or the other in this world. No one is sovereign; we are responsible to one another. God expects us to be faithful in our responsibilities. Faithfulness in whatever position you find yourself amounts to doing your work in the fear God.
- The President or Prime Minister is a steward to his country
- The Governor is a steward to his state
- The chairman or mayor of locality is a steward to his locality
- The church overseer is a steward of God over His congregation
- A worker is a steward to his/her employer
- Subordinates are stewards to their superiors
All in all, human beings are a steward to the Almighty God; the only way we can fear Him is to be faithful in whatever is committed to our care, knowing, and doing all things in the will of God as we have seen in the life of Joseph and David. The empowering presence of God in our lives helps us to overcome sin and resist temptation. If we yield our heart to the directive of the Holy Spirit. Hence, Joseph and David were exalted
- Joseph became the prime Minister in a foreign land of Egypt (Gen. 41: 37-45)
- David became the greatest earthly human King
Be you a president of a country or the lowest of human status; discharge your duty in the fear of God.
The fear of God exalts a man.
To be continued
By Lawrence Abitogun For more articles, go to Christianedification.org,