Why Are We To Fear God?

The fear of God

is the doorway to

our deepest joy.

There are moments when the human heart trembles without knowing why. Something inside us recognises that the world carries shadows that overwhelm our strength, and fear rises as naturally as breath.

Many of these fears grow from our circumstances, from memories, from uncertainties that reach into the quiet corners of our thoughts. Scripture does not deny these realities. It shows again and again that we are fragile creatures who meet pressures that seem too heavy for our shoulders.

Yet there is one fear that stands apart from every other, a fear that heals every other, a fear that offers refuge rather than bondage. It is the fear of the Lord.

This fear is woven through the entire story of redemption. It carries a beauty that startles anyone who slows down long enough to perceive it. People often flinch at the idea because they imagine a God who intimidates or a judge who demands trembling for the sake of submission.

The biblical witness reveals something entirely different. When Scripture speaks of the fear of God, it invites us into a posture where awe becomes clarity and reverence becomes life. The heart that fears the Lord awakens to reality. It perceives the difference between human cruelty and divine holiness, between the confusion of our world and the purity of His kingdom, between the wounds inflicted by people and the healing that flows from His presence.

David understood this mystery. He wrote Psalm thirty-four after escaping danger that would have crushed most people. His fear had been real, strong, and consuming. Through those trials he learned that freedom from destructive fear grows only through a deeper fear that stands before the majesty of God. His life shows that reverence toward the Holy One quiets every lesser terror. The heart that sees God as He is finds strength where despair once ruled. It discovers that the One who commands all creation bends low with compassion.

That kind of fear never drives us away. It draws us closer, as children draw near to a Father whose power surrounds them with security.

This fear also carries joy. Scripture joins these two realities with surprising ease. The fear of the Lord and the delight of His people rise together like two notes of one harmony. What unsettles us at first becomes sweet when trust opens our eyes. The God whose power shakes the nations also shields those who seek Him. The God whose holiness exposes every secret also forgives with a mercy that restores dignity. The God whose authority stretches beyond imagination carries His children through storms with a faithfulness that does not break. Fear toward a God like this becomes a refuge that steadies the soul.

There is a quiet logic in this kind of fear. When our gaze turns toward God, fear finds its rightful place. His strength shows the limits of our anxieties.

His presence reveals the fragility of threats that once felt overwhelming. His promises remind us that He governs what we cannot control.

Human fear demands that we trust our own resources. Holy fear frees us from that impossible burden. It shows us that we do not face life alone. It teaches the heart to rest inside divine majesty with a peace that rises above circumstance.

Many people, both inside and outside the church, pull back from this truth. Something in us resists whatever unsettles our comfort. We prefer a world where God is safe, predictable, manageable. Yet intimacy with Him deepens only when we allow His greatness to stand before us without softening its edges. Reverence awakens the soul. Awe teaches wisdom. Trembling before His holiness opens a doorway into joy that carries weight and permanence. Isaiah spoke of this with astonishing clarity when he said that the One who becomes our fear becomes our sanctuary. His words reveal a truth that transforms the heart. When God becomes the One we honour above all, our lives settle upon a foundation no storm can shake.