What Do You Fear?

Psalm 33:18-22

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
    and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you.

Our Golden, Rosie, shakes when she hears loud noise.

Monday morning, we awoke to a crew of roofers ripping off the shingles on the building next door. When I tried to take Rosie out to do her business, she trotted to the edge of the grass, squatted, then ran back inside. She refused to take her walk. Thankfully, Tim drove her to a safe place, and she was happy.

Like Rosie, I fear certain things—failure in my writing, making a mistake and hurting another person, letting someone down, and worst of all—spiders. Yes, those creepy, crawly creatures freak me out. But seriously, fear is real. We all fear something.

In the Psalm we are called to fear the Lord. Not the fear that causes me to hide, or curl up in a ball, or throw my shoe at an eight-legged creature, but a fear of reverence. Healthy fear of God involves, adoration, devotion, respect, wonder, and worship. As a young Christian, the thought of being afraid of God confused me. Why fear someone who loves you? After becoming a parent I understood much better. Although I don’t think my girls ever truly feared me, they had a healthy respect for me and understood the parameters I set.

God watches over his children, and He loves like no other. Even as I hold a healthy fear for my creator, I also trust Him completely and hope in Him wholly.

Fear the Lord with joy!