When you submit to God, you don't have to be afraid of anything because He becomes your "refuge and strength" (Psalm 46:1). Fearing God doesn't mean being afraid He's going to hurt you. He's a good God! 'The fear of the Lord" just means you follow His directions and recognize His authority in all things. You've probably noticed there's not a lot of respect for authority these days; we've developed the kind of mentality that says, "Nobody's going to tell me what to do!" But the Bible says that in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord, there is strong confidence. Why does it say that? Because a reverent and worshipful fear means being respectful and obedient. It means you'll do what God says to do, and your confidence and trust in Him will continue to grow. And you'll notice something else that's important: The more reverential fear and awe you have of God, the more careful and courteous you'll be in your dealings with others. That's because you know you're accountable to God for your actions, and you recognize that other people are just as valuable to Him as you are. Solomon writes, "Here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments...this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Moses asked the children of Israel, "What doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?" (Deuteronomy 10:12,13). It's not complicated!
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