On Fear // Proverbs 22:4, pt.2

By Mark Jordan

Yesterday, we spent some time considering the idea of humility from Proverbs 22:4. The big idea if you happened to miss it, or need a refresher, is we need to know our place. God does not make it a habit to consult us on things happening in the world; therefore, we need to worry less, pray more, and trust God with the results. Today, I want us to consider the second part of this verse, which is fear.

Fearing God is something the Bible explicitly directs believers to do. Often times we think of this like a reverence for God. Sure, it’s partly that, but not entirely. Fearing God in this case also isn’t abject fear. It sits between the two. I guess the closest thing we can compare it to is how a child fears a parent. The child should know the parent loves him/her with an unending and fierce love. That is a love that provides and protects. It is also a love that is concerned with discipline and ensuring appropriate future behavior. The parent towers over the child. The parent can give good things and remove them all the same. There is the ability to help as well as hurt…to promote as well as punish. The child must learn his or her place, but also know there are no lengths a parent would go to protect; up to, and including, sacrificing their own lives.

Friends, this is a beautiful image of Jesus, isn’t it? Jesus held the place of highest honor in heaven. His love for you and me, though, had Him surrender that glory to put on flesh and sacrifice His life for our salvation. The Apostle Paul wrote about this in Philippians 2:1-11 while saying Jesus’ followers need to take the same approach to living.

So, may we all know our place. May we fear God while knowing He only wants what’s best. That best is for us to be prepared for heaven, and the best way to do that is to accept God’s offer of salvation; believe in Jesus as God’s only Son who was raised from the dead; and confess our ongoing bent toward sinning. May we find that humility and fear of God as the beginning to a whole new lease on life and journey with Jesus!