To fear God means to take him seriously: to hold him in deep awe, honor and respect, and to approach him on his terms rather than ours. It isn’t cowering terror. It’s the right response to a God who is powerful, holy and righteous. The Bible says this kind of reverence leads to wisdom and a richer life, and it naturally shows up in obedience.
The Real God Isn’t Made to Order
We can customize just about everything these days, from lattes to pizza toppings to playlists. So it’s no surprise that many people want a customized version of God, too: one who sees the world our way and reflects our own values and priorities. The trouble is that a god we design ourselves ends up being only kinda, sorta God.
The real God is far greater than anything we could invent. He created the universe out of nothing and holds it together every moment. He isn’t a personal assistant waiting for instructions. He is holy, meaning he is utterly unique and set apart, infinitely above us in purity and glory.
Exodus 15:11 Who among the gods is like you, LORD? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?
Moses sang those words after God rescued Israel through the Red Sea. God is also righteous. His character defines what is right and wrong, and he holds every one of us accountable to that standard. A God like this calls for a certain kind of response.
What It Means to Fear God
The Bible’s word for that response is “fear.” That can sound harsh, but it doesn’t describe the panic you feel in a horror movie. It’s an underlying attitude of reverence: you esteem God so highly that you come to him his way, not yours. Think of the respect you might feel standing at the edge of the ocean or before a towering mountain, then multiply it by infinity, and add the warmth of knowing that this awesome God loves you.
The opposite of fearing God is treating him like he’s no big deal. That’s exactly how sin works on our hearts.
Psalm 36:1-2 I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes. In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin.
When God seems small, sin seems harmless. We flatter ourselves and stop noticing what’s wrong. To fear God is to see him clearly, which helps us see ourselves clearly too.
Why Fearing God Is Good for You
God doesn’t ask for reverence because he’s insecure. He asks for it because it’s the doorway to the life he designed for us. The first thing the Bible connects to the fear of God is wisdom. People who take God seriously tend to be smarter about life.
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs goes on to describe the fear of the Lord as “a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27), and says that “humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life” (Proverbs 22:4). Keep in mind that Proverbs express general principles, not guarantees. Faithful people still face hardship. But as a pattern, honoring God spares us a lot of self-inflicted trouble and opens us up to life at its fullest.
How the Fear of God Leads to Obedience
Reverence for God doesn’t stay a feeling for long. If God is really as great as the Bible says, the natural result is that you’ll want to do what he says. The God who deserves our honor also has every right to call the shots.
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Notice that Paul says to work out your salvation, not work for it. Salvation is God’s free gift through Jesus. Obedience is what that gift looks like as it takes shape in real life. And here’s the encouraging part: God doesn’t leave you to do it alone. He is at work in you, giving you both the desire to honor him and the power to follow through. If you’d like to explore more, check out these thoughts on what it means to worship God.
The Takeaway
To fear God means to take him seriously and hold him in deep awe, rather than reshaping him to fit our preferences. The real God is powerful, holy and righteous. Reverence for him leads to wisdom and a fuller life, and it shows up in obedience that he himself empowers.
