“Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe. But to Israel and Judah, he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare. Many will stumble and fall, never to rise again. They will be snared and captured.”
Isaiah 8:13-15 NLT
Of all the things we fear, and there could be many, the most important is God Himself. But if we pause for a moment in our busy lives, what do we fear the most? This will differ between people depending on their age, circumstances and even family connections. An older person may fear the onset of dementia or some illness that mainly comes later in life. Perhaps they are afraid that their eyesight will fail to the point that they are unable to drive anymore. A younger person might fear losing their job or being evicted from their tenancy. A child might fear being bullied at school. In a war zone, there will be a fear of death or destruction. At any point in life, fears can emerge seemingly out of nowhere, bringing consequences that are debilitating and difficult to handle. But whatever our circumstances, Isaiah wrote that only God should be feared.
Jesus said, “Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot do any more to you after that. But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill you and then throw you into hell. Yes, he’s the one to fear” (Luke 12:4-5). And that’s the thing. Any fears that a human being may face are ultimately temporal except for the fear of what might happen to them after they cross the Great Divide. And yet, that is one fear that people generally don’t seem to have. Speak to someone about life after death, and they generally don’t seem to care that much. Yes, people are sometimes afraid of dying, even Christians, but replies are often flippant and dismissive, like the man I met who said, “I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be involved”.
What does it mean to fear God? Instead of being terrified, the Bible defines this fear as deep respect and awe. Think of it like standing at the edge of a giant ocean. You respect its power, but you also trust that it is beautiful and real. Proverbs 9:10: “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment”. If people had a clear idea deep within their souls that their choices in life would define how they spend eternity, then perhaps some of the daft things that they do wouldn’t happen. But then, human nature being what it is, there is always the temptation to rationalise the potential outcome. For someone speeding on the motorway, there is always the thought that they will never be caught. A burglar or shoplifter might feel that they will never be found out. But with God, He sees all and keeps a record of every thought and deed a person commits. Revelation 20:12, “I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books”.
But those who have the proper deep respect and awe of God will know the consequences of their behaviour, and this will, as the writer of the Proverbs put it, lead to wise choices being made.
The people in Judah were afraid of what was happening, as an invading army ravaged their countryside and people. They failed to realise that it was the Lord who was bringing about the destruction that they were starting to see. Isaiah could see that it was the Lord who should be feared, not the Assyrians, and if the people in Judah had realised that as well, perhaps the death and destruction about to happen would be averted.
Do we have a modern parallel to the happenings in Judah? We probably do, because the judgment in Judah didn’t happen overnight. It took a generation or two, or even more, before what the people feared would become reality. It is the same today. Bad, Godless laws being applied in our legislatures will not be judged immediately because God is patient and He gives people time to repent. But does His lack of action over, for example, the horrors of abortion, mean that he approves of such heinous acts? Of course not! This generation may have escaped the consequences, as may the next, but there will come a time of reckoning, even if only before the Great White Throne.
But we pilgrims are a God-fearing people. We have the benefit of knowing right from wrong from God’s perspective. He leads and guides us through His Spirit. Jesus said in John 16:13: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future”. Our lives in this world differ from those of most people around us. But we have a message of hope that will change people’s perspectives. We know that regardless of what happens in this world, there is a world to come that needs to be planned for. And so we must diligently let those heading for a lost eternity know the consequences of their choices.
Dear Heavenly Father. The time is short, and we have so much to do and people to tell. Please lead us to the right people who need to hear the Good News about Jesus and salvation. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 