Fear is a condition of the human mind when a person expects or experiences some calamity. It is a very negative feeling that can cause mental disorders and even drive a person into panic, resulting in unpredictable consequences.
The Bible identifies several kinds of fear that should not be confused with one another. Apart from their name, they have nothing in common.
The fear of God is a condition that God desires to see in us. Such fear is a special expression of respect for the Most High as the Creator, as a loving Father, and as the merciful and just King of the universe and of our Earth. This condition implies that we acknowledge God as our Master and desire to please Him in every detail of our lives. The fear of God is joy in knowing the Father’s character and restructuring our entire way of life and thinking according to the requirements of God’s law and commandments. It is the fear of doing evil.
In this case, the fear of God is the most positive condition of the human mind. While a person remains in this condition, the soul opens to receive love and becomes able to analyze God’s requirements soberly. The believer then follows these instructions in a spirit of joy and love.
The fear of the Lord is love for God; it is faith in Jesus and accepting Him as one’s personal Saviour. It is the desire to have a deep, personal relationship with Him and to remain in that relationship continually.
The fear children have toward their parents and a wife toward her husband is respect similar to the fear of God, together with a desire to please them and do something pleasant and useful.
The fear believers experience before the majesty of God’s manifestations of power and miracles is reverence and wonder at the providence of the Most High. It is humility and profound respect before their Lord and an acknowledgment that He is Master of the situation.
Fear in anticipation of calamity is already a negative response of the soul to existing circumstances.
This kind of fear can have many components and change according to a person’s perception. It may resemble anxiety, worry, timidity, fear of the unknown, foreboding, terror, or panic. If these processes escape the control of reason, they prompt frightened people to behave inappropriately and to act contrary to common sense. In some cases, the body produces adrenaline, which increases its physical capabilities and enables a person to do what he could never do under ordinary circumstances.
But the saddest aspect of such fear is that a person’s will becomes paralyzed by feelings and is ready to submit to any instruction or proposal that offers a way out of the existing situation.
The enemy of souls knows these characteristics of the human body and tries to use them for his own purposes. The best way to make a person afraid is to portray God as a Being Who hates sinners and waits for every opportunity to punish and chastise them. To convince people even more thoroughly that he is right, Satan begins attributing the qualities of his own perverted character to God and tries to prove his fabrications from the Bible. People believe this lie without even attempting to discover for themselves what God is truly like.
If I have come to believe that the Lord is cruel and punitive, then the only solution is to appease an angry God. All kinds of intermediaries, intercessors, good works, donations, special prayers, and pilgrimages supposedly accomplish this very well. Those who are unable to please God are said to face inevitable punishment in this life and even after death.
What happens in the mind of a person who believes such a teaching about God? Such people want to run away from the Creator. But God is omnipresent, and it is impossible to hide from Him.
Before I knew God, I experienced feelings like these, and I can honestly say that I was very afraid. As a defense, I chose hatred toward God and decided to sin in defiance of Him, because I understood that punishment awaited me in any case—so why not live for my own pleasure? I was not afraid to do evil, and I considered all God’s ministers hypocrites and profiteers. Yet such a life leads to nothing but fear and neurosis. Sin does not make a person happy.
By God’s mercy, I met Jesus, and He assured me of His love and His acceptance of me just as I was. I was simply captivated by such an approach and joyfully believed in such a God. It turned out that He had always been this way. All my stereotypes about Him were destroyed; I saw the true beauty of God’s character and ceased to be afraid of Him. This revealed knowledge became the starting point of my new life. I began devoting time to the study of this mysterious Being named God and made many amazing discoveries. My new heavenly Father appeared before me as a wise and loving Parent. I loved Him with all my heart and soul and decided to enter into covenant with Him through baptism by immersion.
There is no fear in love. Furthermore, fear distorts the true beauty of God and obscures His mercy, presenting only a punishing sword.
Our world has created an entire industry of fear. All forms of mass media teach us that living in sin is beneficial and necessary. The blind lead the blind, the greedy profit from the fear of the foolish, the proud bring the timid under their control, and the cunning manipulate the minds of the trusting. This entire Babylonian industry plunges people into intoxication and oblivion, offering an escape and imaginary freedom while casting them into the hopeless slavery of passions, fears, and vices. And in case they come to their senses, all kinds of medications and remedies already stand ready.
It is very easy to manipulate the minds of those who live in fear. The recent pandemic showed what frightened people are capable of. One hears all kinds of stories, from the foolish to the insane. In such a condition, a person is capable of signing anything, surrendering his freedom in exchange for a sense of security, putting on any chains, and entering any prison, if only he can find peace.
But God offers a way out—His love, which very simply casts out fear. Why be afraid of those whom you love? Why dread anything when you are under the most powerful Protection? Where should you run when you are an overcomer?
There is no fear in love, because fear hath torment, while love brings delight.
We are counseled to save others with fear, and there is wisdom in this. People need to be told about the terrible recompense for sin and the inevitable penalty for every evil, but the solution must also be shown by explaining that only God’s love is able to correct and eradicate it all.
Fear frightens and paralyzes, but love inspires and sets free. Now choose.
I know people who talk a great deal about problems, crises, and how terrible everything is. After speaking with messengers like these, it becomes so difficult to live under the weight of their news. But I also know those who, like the sun, bring joy to the soul and heart and carry so much that is positive within them that one wants to live—and to live forever.
Whatever I feed my soul is what I will be able to share. Why be afraid when I can love? Why perish from fear while awaiting calamities when I can rejoice while awaiting Christ? Why believe something that destroys the mind and life when God has given us so many beautiful truths and hopes in His Word?
But if I consciously or subconsciously choose the path of godlessness, it will lead me into slavery to sin, a life of fear, and torment of conscience.
I choose love, and I begin to live in joy and happiness.
Homework 102
What did you understand from this lesson? Is fear something positive in your understanding? Why are frightened people easier to control? What does obedience motivated by fear lead to? Does God desire to have such obedient children? How does love set us free from fear? Why is there torment in fear? Please read 1 John 4:18; Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 8:13; Jude 23; and Revelation 21:8 in the light of our lesson.