Why we need to fear God

Exclusive: Greg Laurie writes about the key to Paul's peace amidst captivity and troubles

We all know what it's like to be gripped by fear. A shiver runs down your spine, your mouth goes dry, and the hair stands up on the back of your neck.

Fear often works in tandem with its close buddy, worry. We can get caught up playing the game of what-if, which can end up tying our stomach in knots. In fact, medical research has proved that worry can break down our resistance to disease. It affects our nervous system, digestive organs and heart.

Excessive worry can even shorten our lives. Charles Mayo, the founder of the famed Mayo Clinic, said that he never knew anyone who died of overwork, but he knew plenty of people who died of worry.

Far too often we're afraid of the wrong things in life, while we're not afraid of the right things in life – or the right one, that is. 

We don't fear God. Yet the Bible tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV).

What does it mean to fear God? Let me start by saying that it doesn't mean cowering in terror before him. Rather, the fear of God has been properly defined as a wholesome dread of displeasing him. It isn't fearing what God will do to us when we sin; rather, it's fearing what we have done to him. That is what it means to fear the Lord.

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The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when we fear him, we fear nothing else. On the other hand, if we don't fear God, then we will fear everything else.

The psalmist David wrote, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1 NKJV)

Only the person who can say, "The Lord is the strength of my life" can then say, "Of whom shall I be afraid?"

Even the most committed Christians experience those times when fear and worry kick in, when anxiety begins to overtake them. Maybe it's a concern about the future. Or perhaps it's discouragement about a mistake or a failure.

The great apostle Paul even experienced emotions like this. In Acts 20 we read about his emotional goodbye to the elders of the church in Ephesus. Afterward, he ultimately arrived in Caesarea, where he stayed with his friend Philip the evangelist.

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There he encountered a rather colorful prophet known as Agabus, who warned Paul about going to Jerusalem. He took Paul's belt and tied it around his own hands and feet and said that is what would happen to the owner of that belt if he went to Jerusalem.

But Paul said to those who were with him, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 21:13 NKJV).

Then Paul went to Jerusalem where, not long after his arrival, he was arrested and put in prison. All of this happened as a result of Paul's bold proclamation of the Gospel. And in that cold, damp, dark prison cell, I'm sure he felt discouraged.

Why? Because verse 11 of Acts 23 tells us, "But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome'" (NKJV).

Have you ever had a time when you were discouraged and someone tried to cheer you up – but they made you feel even more miserable? They had the best of intentions, but they didn't say the right thing.

The Lord stood by Paul, who needed those words at that moment. If everyone else turned away from Paul, Jesus was company enough. If all others despised him, the smile of Jesus was approval enough. Though his circumstances were less than ideal, Paul no doubt understood that it was better to be in jail with the Lord than to be anywhere else without him.

The Bible tells us, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:15–16 NKJV).

We have a God who understands what we are going through, a God who knows what it's like to face what we're facing. Therefore, go to God. Bring your problems to him. Bring your concerns to him. Go boldly to his throne of grace and receive the grace that he will give to help you in your time of need.

Are you gripped by fear and worry right now? Be of good courage. Someone has defined courage simply as fear that has said its prayers. I like that. I also think courage is in short supply these days. The world needs people who will courageously stand up for what is right.

I'm glad that I don't always know about everything that is going on around me, about everything that is happening in both the natural and supernatural realms. We may not know about the plots against us that might be out there. But the good news is that we don't have to be afraid, because the Lord is with us. He was with Paul in his prison cell, and he is with us wherever we are.

God is aware of everything we have ever done for him. Sometimes when we're faithfully and quietly laboring away for the Lord somewhere, we don't receive any fanfare. People don't recognize the sacrifices that we've made. They aren't aware of what we've done. But Jesus Christ sees it. And if we are doing it for him, it's really all that matters anyway.

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