Living in Fear without Being Afraid

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. Psalm 112:1

The LORD is mighty; He is great; He is above all things. With His mighty voice, He spoke the Heavens and the Earth into existence. There is none like Jehovah. He formed man out of the dust, in His image, and He breathed life into him. The LORD is Holy, He is righteous, He is just.

The Psalmist wrote blessed is the God-fearing man. This is not like the fear of encountering something dangerous, like when you are walking in tall grass in the summer, and you might be petrified of a snake. When the Psalmist wrote these words, he was not thinking of creepy crawly things that might hurt or kill based on a perceived threat. He used fear as an adjective to describe the status of the way a God-fearing man will live. In fact, that state of being, coupled with delighting in God's commandments, is not a source of worry, but of blessing.

Unfortunately, because of sin, many worry instead of fear. The origin of the word worry in English means seize by the throat. Worry destabilizes a man; worry can break us down; worry can snatch blessing out of our lives. Yet, God is clear through His Word. He does not wish for His creation to be afraid, but to trust, and find his root in the Lord. The psalmist continues in verses 7-8, He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies. In other words, the God-fearing man lives in fear of the Lord but will never be afraid.

Grace and Peace,

Ryan

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