The Awe of God: The Astounding Way a Healthy Fear of God Transforms Your Life

by John Paul Bevere

Isaiah 66, Jesus emphasizes that we shouldn’t initiate “doing something for God” while neglecting to obey what He has already told us to do.

“I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.” (1 Samuel 2:30)

Repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. (Revelation 2:5 NKJV)

To repent means to change the way you think—and thus act—in order to come in line with God’s Word.

when what is not sin takes precedence over the Word of the Lord, it becomes sin.

Passage: “I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.” (1 Samuel 2:30) Point: If we delay our obedience to God’s Word for personal excuses, we communicate that His will is secondary in importance. Ponder: It’s possible that seemingly harmless things can detour us from fulfilling God’s will. When what is not sin takes precedence over the Word of the Lord, it becomes sin. Have I allowed myself to be distracted by personal interests and therefore delayed my obedience? How can this change? Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, forgive me for the times I’ve treated Your Word as optional or not prioritized it as most important. I realize in doing so I’ve inadvertently communicated what is important to You to be trivial to me.

Profession: Once I know the will of God, I will immediately obey it.

I hope you are seeing with more clarity how the fear of the Lord truly is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10).

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

He determined to get up each morning and ask the Lord’s direction for the day.

“Wisdom is shown to be right by its results” (Matthew 11:19).

Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe. (Proverbs 28:26)

The Lord’s wisdom far exceeds ours; therefore, we shouldn’t depend on our own understanding. It can easily sway us from beneficial obedience. The person who fears God obeys, even when it doesn’t make sense.

It is man’s duty to love and to fear God, even without hope of reward or fear of punishment. —MAIMONIDES

You can never outgive God; the benefits are far greater than anything you can do for Him.

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” (Matthew 16:25)

We most often miss the greatest blessings by shunning God’s wisdom that doesn’t appear to be personally beneficial. In essence, we hurt ourselves in the long run. We can never outgive God.

Apart from obedience, there can be no salvation, for salvation without obedience is a self-contradictory impossibility.

Obey God immediately. Obey God even if it doesn’t make sense. Obey God even when you don’t see a personal benefit. Obey God even if it is painful.

Philippians 2:12–13, we are reminded to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

“The hired servant (he who merely serves for wages) . . . when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away” (John 10:12 AMPC).

“It has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake” (Philippians 1:29 NKJV).

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. (1 Peter 2:21–23)

We are not to retaliate; rather, we are to commit any unjust treatment we receive into the hands of God. We shouldn’t ignore it, but in prayer we should turn it over to Him. God will avenge us, but in His way and time frame.

The heroes of the kingdom experienced great victories through their faith, but in their obedience to God, some were mocked, chained, tortured, abused, imprisoned, wandered in deserts, lived in caves, a...

Out of their holy fear they refused to turn away from obedience, even if it hurt. But they were confident in this promise, “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy

they sing as they return with the harvest” (Psalm 126:5–6).

In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. (Proverbs 14:26 NKJV)

Dear Lord, forgive me for the pattern of avoiding obedience to Your Word in order to protect myself. I realize I’ve chosen unwisely—Your protection is infallible and enduring; my protection is only temporary. From this moment forward I choose the fear of the Lord; may it give me the deep resolve to obey You no matter the cost. Thank You for this strength, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. —PROVERBS 4:26

Here again are the first four, along with the last: Obey God immediately. Obey God even if it doesn’t make sense. Obey God even when you don’t see a personal benefit. Obey God even if it is painful. Obey God to completion.

As with most, including King Saul, the initial signs of losing holy fear are subtle. It begins with ignoring conviction in the small matters, resulting in our consciences becoming more and more desensitized.

Eventually, when faced with the more significant matters, we’re

Saul mobilized 210,000 troops. He and his men slaughtered every human being and domestic animal—except for the Amalekite king, Agag, and the finest domestic animals (1 Samuel 15:7–9).

“I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” (1 Samuel 15:11)

The apostle John says that sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). His definition of sin can be stated as such: sin is insubordination to the authority of God.

However, what’s behind insecurity is our desire to be accepted, loved, or respected, even at the price of disobedience.

We lack the realization of how deeply accepted and loved we are by our Creator. Insecurity needs to be called out for what it is: a dangerous trap.

“Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?” (Matthew 26:53–54)

That will shoot adrenaline into your souls! (Hebrews 12:2–3 MSG)

Almost complete obedience isn’t obedience at all.

Have I started to obey God’s Word and allowed distractions, pleasure, resistance, disapproval of others, or any other adversity to cause me to cease and not finish? How can this change?

(Isaiah 40:12).

That is roughly 670,000,000 miles per hour. Our airplanes fly approximately 500 miles