Fear What?

It was over thirty minutes after the earthquake on Saturday night that we realized that we had not seen our dog since the event. It is very unusual to not know where she is because she wants to always be where we are. She does not just want to be where we are but for us to be holding her. We began walking through the house calling her and walking around the backyard because we had propped the door open. After coming back in and taking a closer search of our house she came walking up behind me. We think she may have been hiding under the bed. When I went down to pick her up she cowered from me. She stayed at least arms length from me so I could not touch her. When I finally was able to pick her up she was trembling in fear. Obviously the earthquake frightened her greatly and the only thing she knew to blame it on was us.

Fear, when directed toward anything but God, comes from the absence of faith. When we live in fear of the things of this world we are living like we do not trust God. Christians are called to live bold lives, fearing God more than man. When we cower to the things of this world we are showing our lack of wisdom about God. The world is powerless against the things of God. The only person to fear is God. He is a just God who brings judgment. C.S. Lewis gave a great picture of how to balance the fear of God with his grace. Thomnas and Lucy had a conversation about the lion who represented Christ. Thomnas says, “He is not a tame lion.” Lucy replied, “No, but he’s good”.

Psalm 111:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”