to fear Him is to know Him

Do I fear God? Absolutely! Am I afraid or frightened or terrified? That’s a different kind of fear.

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, contains a multitude of verses pertaining to the fear of God. Here’s a tiny sampling:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever. Psalm 111:10 NAS

Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. Psalm 33:8 NAS

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Corinthians 7:1 NAS

and he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters." Revelation 14:7 NAS

After searching thru the Bible and several references, I found several descriptions of what it truly means to fear God:

It’s having an awe and reverence that only comes from knowing Him.

It’s experiencing His presence and what He has done for me thru Jesus.

It’s to respect of Him and obey His word.

It’s understanding His awesome holiness.

It’s putting God first in my life and earnestly following Him.

I can’t quite find the words to express this very clearly, so I’m ‘borrowing’ a couple statements:

“Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him, that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe.”

The fear of God has three basic components:

To Know Him
To Worship Him (in honor & reverence)
To Obey Him

To fear Him is to know Him – yes, I am a God-fearing woman. To know Him also means to give myself daily to Him.