What Does It Mean To Fear God In The Bible? What Does It Mean To Fear The Lord?

What Does It Mean To Fear God In The Bible? What Does It Mean To Fear The Lord?

Good Morning, Dear Friends! 💖

Yesterday, we explored 26 Encouraging Bible Verses About The Fear Of The Lord. Today, we explore what it means to fear the Lord. (See also: Is The Lord God or Jesus?)

So what does it mean to Fear God?
To fear God means to have reverence for God, i.e. to recognize and respect God’s authority, power and influence, and to submit to God’s authority in our lives. To fear God is take God seriously. When we fear God, we seek to please God in all we do – Honoring and Glorifying God as He helps us navigate our daily lives.

At first glance, the concept of fearing God may seem a little confusing or contradictory. After all, we are reminded again and again that God is love, that God loves us dearly, and that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). So why then should we fear God? How can a God of love ask us to fear Him? What does this all mean?

Dear Friends, The Fear Of God referred to in the Bible is not the kind of fear that is negative, i.e. fearing something or someone evil or bad. The fear we must have for God is reverence and awe ~ To acknowledge and submit to God’s ultimate and absolute wisdom, love, power and authority in our lives. See also: Obedience Is The Proof Of Our Faith In God.

To Fear God is to focus on Trusting God Not Man; and to focus on Pleasing God, Not People.

To Fear God is to Follow God Wholeheartedly, with the goal of Becoming who God created you to be.

Here are some Bible Verses that illustrate what it means to fear God:

Proverbs 8:13, NIV To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.

Proverbs 15:33, ESV The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Hebrews 12:28-29, ESV Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13, NIV And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

Galatians 1:10, ESV For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. See also: Bible Verses about God’s Approval

Ecclesiastes 12:13, ESV The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

The Bible encourages us to fear The Lord, worship Him, and cling to Him:

Deuteronomy 10:20-21, NLT You must fear the LORD your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name alone. He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes.

The Bible reminds us again and again that the fear of the Lord is the foundation of knowledge and wisdom:

Proverbs 1:7, ESV The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

God wants us to fear Him so that it may go well with us.

Deuteronomy 5:29, ESV Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! (God wants you to do well! God wants it to go well with you!)

Here are some more helpful posts that explore what it means to fear the Lord:

#1. 26 Encouraging Bible Verses About The Fear Of The Lord.

#2. 12 Bible Verses About Reverence To God & Reverence For God

#3. 10 Bible Verses About Trusting God Instead Of Man

#4. Our Purpose Is To Please God, Not People. Focus On Pleasing God, Not People.

#5. Bible Verses About Honoring & Glorifying God

#6. Honoring God With Your Life

#7. 10 Important Bible Verses about Submission: Submitting to God, Submitting to Jesus, & Submitting to God’s Will.

#8. 23 Bible Verses about The Holy Spirit Helping You

Prayer:
Dear Lord, please help us to understand what it means to show reverence to God in all we do. Help us remember that fearing God is ultimately for our own good. Dear Lord, please help us to practice the fear of the Lord – today and always, Amen.

What Does It Mean To Fear God In The Bible?
What Does It Mean To Fear The Lord?

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Thanks for reading, Dear Friends!
Have a wonderfully blessed, stress-free, productive, and joyful day!
Much Love & Blessings,
Bomi Jolly ~ JollyNotes.com