I Stand in Awe of You

One of the most frequent and least understood topics in the bible is that of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is actually a positive influence upon believers and makes for a healthy vibrant church. The Bible records, “Then fear came upon every soul…” (Acts 2:43) However, today “The fear of the Lord” seems to be a subject that is not one for discussion especially to be preached from a pulpit. It seems that people only want to hear about God’s love and mercy, which He has beyond measure, but they shun away from other important aspects of Christianity, one being the fear of the Lord. When we mention the fear of the Lord, people tend to respond in a way to say that God is not to be feared and thereby create God in their own image. Yet the Bible clearly reveals God as one to be feared.

In the Old Testament fear is described as; affright; be afraid; dread; terror; reverence. In the New Testament it is described as virtually the same but adds, quake, tremble. To have dread or terror of the Lord is from the perspective of those who God will judge who do evil and refuse to repent before a just God, “Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty." (Isaiah 2:10) However, this is not so for the believer. For the believer, the fear of the Lord is to have reverence and awe for the one who has shown His mercy and has provided the way of escape from the wrath to come, through Jesus Christ, “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

Solomon records many aspects of the fear of the Lord...

• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7)
• The fear of the Lord is to hate evil (Proverbs 8:13)
• The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10)
• The fear of the Lord prolongs days (life) (Proverbs 10:27)
• The fear of the Lord provides strong confidence (Proverbs 14:26)
• The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life to avoid the snares of death (Proverbs 14:27)
• The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom (Proverbs 15:33)
• The fear of the Lord cause one to depart evil (Proverbs 16:6)
• The fear of the Lord leads to a satisfied life void of evil (Proverbs 19:23)
• The fear of the Lord leads to riches, honor and life (Proverbs 22:4) 

When looking at these aspects of the fear of the Lord we can see that it is really to one's advantage to stand in awe and reverence of the Lord Most High. Signs and wonders in the early church produced a great reverence and awe of the Lord. "Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles." (Acts 2:43) Keep in mind, that these people, now born again, opposed and mocked the disciples. (Acts 2:13)  Now the effect of a great work of God's grace through the ministry of the apostles had released a profound change in the peoples hearts. This was the real deal.

I believe the connection between the fear of the Lord and the signs and wonders is the people remembered the crucifixion of Jesus; they remembered the wonders that happened that day; they remembered the events that occurred on the Day of Pentecost; and without doubt, they knew that the Lord was with them. This is a clear indication as to whether believers truly know that the Lord is with them. It is not a matter of reading scripture or being told that He is, it comes down to acting as though He is. If believers truly respond in this manner, they too will experience the same powerful work that the Lord accomplished through the apostles and enjoy standing in awe of the Lord.