A Biblical Perspective on Fear

Is it a bad thing to have fear? Is it proper to have fear? Look for a moment at the following verses in Psalm 112.

Psalm 112:1, 7
Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

Notice that this whole psalm is speaking of a person who fears the Lord. Then, notice how v. 7 gives us one of the life results of the person who fears the Lord: he is not afraid of evil tidings or bad news.

Fear is proper when directed toward God. The point this psalm is making is that if an individual is going to receive God’s benefits, he must live with a proper reverence and awe of Him. It is important, therefore, to constantly marvel at the attributes and works of God. Praise God for them in your prayer life. Meditate upon them throughout the day. Proper fear of God can only result from proper thoughts about God and much time spent meditating upon Him as a person.

One of the benefits for the individual who fears God is that he/she is then able to stop fearing the stuff of life that could happen. Sometimes, Christians are very pessimistic, almost expecting bad news to come. It is like we are afraid that somehow, in order to experience a dynamic Christian life, something terrible has to happen like it did to many of the great men and women of the Bible. Other times, we are simply paranoid about the future. We fear a substantial loss of money, or an accident, or a family crisis, or a health issue, etc. Instead of seeking first Christ’s kingdom and letting Him concern Himself with the rest of our lives (Matthew 6:33), we seek first our kingdom.

The message I gleaned from these two verses in this psalm is that if I find myself fearing bad news, I am not properly fearing God. I am not meditating upon Him enough. I am not depending upon Him. We should ask God to help us fear Him, and then trust Him to take care of the things that we might be tempted to fear.