“Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.” (Ps 33:8)
Some time ago someone asked me: “Aren’t we supposed to love God? I don’t understand how you can love someone that you are afraid of.”
I answered him that godly fear and love are not opposites. They go together. If I really love my wife I will be afraid to do things that will hurt her. I will think about what she likes and do all I can to make her happy because I love her. I will actually prioritize her before me. That is what it means to fear God. He said: “That makes sense. I have never thought about that.”
We fear God because we love Him. Fearing God and loving God are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other.
Psalm 19:9 says: “the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever.” To fear God means that we respect Him for who He is and obey what He says because we love Him. How wonderful it is to fear Him! It is to “hope in his steadfast love.”
Fearing God primarily means that we will obey His Word. It will keep us away from sin. Joseph said to Potiphar’s wife when she wanted to seduce him: “How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Ge 39:9) Joseph feared God and it kept him from sinning.
Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. It is the first ingredient in the eternal gospel that will be proclaimed from heaven in the end times:
“Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.’” (Rev 14:6-7)
If we fear God now, we will not have to be afraid of Him when we stand before His throne to give an account for our lives.
We fear God because of His enormous greatness. He is the God of heaven and earth who created all things. And when we fear Him we don’t have to be afraid of anything else. We are safe because no one is greater than the LORD. He is still in charge.
“Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” (Ps 33:18-19)
Fear of God will produce a pure joy in our hearts. The psalm continues:
“Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.” (v. 20-21)
