Fear God
Isaiah 8
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| I pray blessings on you as you read. |
(v. 12-13) " 'Do not call conspiracy everything that these people call conspiracy, do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread."
My Thoughts
Well, now that's strange, isn't it? We are to fear God and to dread God? That's what God himself told Isaiah. I'm sure you have probably heard this before, to fear God, haven't you? Let me tell you, the fear that we are to have for God is not at all the same fear that some people have of spiders or deep water or tight spaces. It is actually a good kind of fear.
Good kind of fear? Well, yes, there is a such thing as a healthy fear. It would probably be better known as rational fear and the unhealthy fear is known as irrational fear. I am going to stick with the terms healthy and unhealthy for this though. So, examples of a healthy fear may include a fear of heights. The reason why is that then, you won't be as inclined to go near high edges where you could fall off and die or become seriously injured. An unhealthy fear would be a fear of books or some other such silliness.
These two examples, as well as pretty much any example you could think of, are not set in stone. You can overcome a fear of heights without it necessarily becoming any more dangerous. You can also have an extreme fear of heights that would prevent you from taking the stairs, which would then be unhealthy. A fear of books may be a healthy fear, if there is a reason for it. Say a child, from the time they were born, only ever got their fingers slammed in books, and never knew anything else of them. That child would be conditioned to associate books with their fingers being slammed in it. As horrible as that would be, it would be a good reason to be afraid.
Maybe the term 'healthy' doesn't really apply to the second one, but it would be justified. It's probably still unhealthy, but understandable. The fear we are to have of God is a healthy fear. It is more like a respect than actually being afraid of God. We are to fear His power, yes, because God's power is unlimited. I've said before, and it is in the Bible, that God has the power to create life, take it and to restore it, all in an instant. If that is not terrifying, I don't know what is.
So when God says that we should fear Him, He is not saying that we should associate our emotion of fear to Him, but that we should respect and realize that God can do literally anything, even things we cannot possibly imagine. Our God is a loving God, but that doesn't mean that He is ignorant or flippant; He will punish sin. Don't go around being fearful of God, but rather, understand and realize that He is capable of anything, and respect that acknowledge that.
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Good kind of fear? Well, yes, there is a such thing as a healthy fear. It would probably be better known as rational fear and the unhealthy fear is known as irrational fear. I am going to stick with the terms healthy and unhealthy for this though. So, examples of a healthy fear may include a fear of heights. The reason why is that then, you won't be as inclined to go near high edges where you could fall off and die or become seriously injured. An unhealthy fear would be a fear of books or some other such silliness.
These two examples, as well as pretty much any example you could think of, are not set in stone. You can overcome a fear of heights without it necessarily becoming any more dangerous. You can also have an extreme fear of heights that would prevent you from taking the stairs, which would then be unhealthy. A fear of books may be a healthy fear, if there is a reason for it. Say a child, from the time they were born, only ever got their fingers slammed in books, and never knew anything else of them. That child would be conditioned to associate books with their fingers being slammed in it. As horrible as that would be, it would be a good reason to be afraid.
Maybe the term 'healthy' doesn't really apply to the second one, but it would be justified. It's probably still unhealthy, but understandable. The fear we are to have of God is a healthy fear. It is more like a respect than actually being afraid of God. We are to fear His power, yes, because God's power is unlimited. I've said before, and it is in the Bible, that God has the power to create life, take it and to restore it, all in an instant. If that is not terrifying, I don't know what is.
So when God says that we should fear Him, He is not saying that we should associate our emotion of fear to Him, but that we should respect and realize that God can do literally anything, even things we cannot possibly imagine. Our God is a loving God, but that doesn't mean that He is ignorant or flippant; He will punish sin. Don't go around being fearful of God, but rather, understand and realize that He is capable of anything, and respect that acknowledge that.
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Prayer Time
Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do.
Let me know your thoughts on this reading as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read, I pray that what you have read blesses and inspires you! Godbless!
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