"Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it."
Hebrews 4:1
Oftentimes, folks within the so-called "Faith Camp" are so focused on being the righteousness of God in Christ that they misunderstand and misapply the sacred role that fear holds in the life of a believer. The New Testament clearly instructs us to maintain a healthy, godly fear. However, many times we hear the scripture quoted, "God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7), and we assume "all" fear is bad fear. Our natural tendency is to dismiss fear altogether; sometimes even immediately rebuking it without any regard to its nature. Because we are faith people, we have determined within ourselves never to be afraid!
If we really understand the role of fear in the life of a believer, then it will help us to see just how complimentary it is to a life of faith, and not necessarily a contradiction. Faith and fear are really not opposing virtues. They are intended to work together. We don't decide between being a people of faith and a people of fear! That is not the way we are to see ourselves. True fear is a motivator to faith, not a deterrent. If the children of Israel had recognized the value of fear, they would never have doubted God's Word. They fell into unbelief because of a lack of the fear of God, and not just a lack of faith.
"There is a fear that helps motivate faith. It is a holy fear that chooses to be faithful so that we don't
fall short or get our eyes off of the promise."
We have to be very careful about throwing all fear into the same basket, thinking there isn't a good side to fear. We also have to be just as mindful that there is a negative force to fear meant to kill, steal, and destroy. In John's first epistle, he tells us that fear has torment - the sort of torment that is uncharacteristic of the true love of God. That is the kind of fear God never gave us, and a fear we must resist ardently. But there is a fear that we need to embrace that will help balance our lives in every way.
Imagine your life of faith as a journey, and the Word of God is your road map. As you embark on this journey, you find there are many different twists and turns in the way that require attention to the details. Very often, the circumstances of life surrounding us aren't always marked out with warning signs. Conditions may change to where it may look as if we are heading in the wrong direction when just ahead the road makes another turn and we are heading in the right direction. How many times have we found ourselves traveling westward on our journey northward? We may wonder why the road is leading us in the opposite direction, but if we trust the map we don't question its guidance. As long as we keep looking at the map we have confidence things will turn out like they are suppose to. Once we get our eyes off the map we have no true way of knowing where we are heading.
This is where fear plays such an important part in our life. If I am truly a person of faith then I know God's way is always the best way. I trust him explicitly. Fear holds me to my faith and keeps me from considering any other. I dare not doubt his decision for my life, and my fear keeps me riveting to his promises.
