How We Should Fear

I’m not sure about you, but for me, the words “happy” and “fear” have rarely been used in the same sentence. They seem at odds with one another – to be happy must mean to not be fearful, and if you are afraid, you are thus not happy.

I remember having one coach in particular who felt like the only way for him to gain respect was to make us fear him. Whenever I would make a mistake, I would fear what punishment was coming next. Needless to say, it never resulted in me being happy.

This view of fear is one-dimensional and teaches us a punitive view. The fear discussed in Psalm 112 tells us to fear the Lord is more than fearing only judgment or punishment for what we have done wrong. When done right, fear should result in happiness; how does this happen?

In the original language, “fear” means “to hold weight to,” to consider something important, and to think about it. God wants us to see that His people who hold weight to His laws and commands will produce a good fear that ends with them delighting in His law, not being afraid or dreading it.

We fear God by hating what He hates and delighting in what God delights. When we do this, we develop wisdom (Psalm 9:10). Holding weight in what God says helps our faith believe some of the most complex truths in scripture. One of those is found in Hebrews 10:17, “and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts.”

Believing that God forgives us our sins should bring immense happiness. The way we come to honestly believe this is to hold weight or fear what God says in His Word. Then we see how fearing God indeed does bring happiness.