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

by John Paul Bevere

4:12 NKJV)

The fear of the Lord keeps us in touch with our heart motives, which is critically important, for the lack thereof leaves us vulnerable to the deception of hypocrisy.

How do I gravitate toward pleasing others with the underlying motive of personal satisfaction, protection, or gain? Is this something I default to when under pressure? In what areas has it caused me to compromise my integrity?

repent of making people my source of joy and happiness rather than making Jesus my source. I ask you to fill my heart with holy fear so that I will consistently love others in truth and so that I will not succumb to hypocrisy.

I will love those I interact with by speaking truth and seeking their benefit over my own.

I’m self-focused, then I’ll seek to project an image that will cover my known inadequacies.

Jesus gave His life to free us from this slavery.

If we succumb to the pressure of comparison, we highlight our shortcomings and in turn will self-promote or self-protect, and it all begins in our motives and intentions.

In today’s world our perceived image carries greater weight than our actual image.

Simply put, our reputation is what we will protect. Our efforts now focus on appearances, status, titles, popularity, acceptance, reputation, and s...

This is not what will be revealed and examined at the judgment; rather it will be our actual image, which centers a...

So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to ea...

This can only speak of believers.

When you hear of your “darkest secrets” and “private motives” being revealed before the entire assembly of heaven, it likely makes you fear in a healthy way. This could be one reason Paul refers to believer’s judgment as “the terror of the Lord.”

the more we lack the fear of

the Lord, the more we will lean on our projected image.

Please remember, God’s verdict addressed their secret motive, not their action.

Here is the good news: we can repent of our dark motives, and God will not only forgive, but if we cry out to Him for holy fear

and renew our mind through Scripture, we can be blessed ...

“For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.” (Luke 8:17)

So, in essence, what we do with the cross determines where we will spend eternity; however, the way we live as believers determines how we will live in the forever.

If we retreat from our assignments by choosing to live in a way that is motivated by temporary selfish gain, this would be considered one of the “evil” behaviors.

It’s clear that how we build is of the essence.

There is a variety of ways we can choose to spend our God-given time. If we live to build for self-gain—the temporary—it’s considered combustible material. If we live selflessly to build His eternal kingdom, it’s viewed as material that isn’t destroyed but purified. The fire that examines our lives will be the Word of God—in other words, how did our motives, words, and behavior line up with it?

If our behavior and labor stem from obedience to His Word and will for our lives, our achievements will last forever. There are two things to note: First, our achievements will include how we influenced

others’ lives, along with how we used our God-given talents to build His kingdom. Second, our eternal reward will determine our eternal position in His kingdom.

We all will rejoice beyond comprehension—but there will be a sense of what could have been.

It’s my hope that your gift of time is dedicated in obedience to His Word and Spirit.

Dear heavenly Father, forgive me for giving my focused attention, energy, strength, and time to building for the temporal. I ask that You show me how to build for Jesus’ kingdom on a daily basis. Please empower me to impact people’s lives for the eternal. Thank You in Jesus’ name, amen.

will look for and engage in eternal opportunities, not merely the ones that perish with this life.

authentic holiness isn’t bondage; it’s true freedom.

“He who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness”

blaspheme, which means “to

speak against someone in such a way as to harm or injure his ...

We forfeit the privilege to be a servant of Christ if we succumb to the pull of seeking popularity. In doing so, we will project whatever image is necessary for a favorable perception.

He stayed focused on his actual image—the one that will be revealed at the judgment—not his projected image. This kept him in the place of true holiness and obedience to Christ, even when met with the disappointment, disapproval, or rejection of others.

will serve whom you fear! If you fear God, you’ll obey God.

If

you fear man, you’ll ultimately obey man’s desires. Often we worry more about offending the person before us than the One we don’t physically see, especially if we desire a person’s love or friendship. For this reason, we are told, “Fearing people is a dangerous t...

Peter, Barnabas, and the other Jewish believers were afraid of disapproval from those they respected.

Their desire for acceptance led to hypocritical behavior—first from Peter

and then from the others. Their projected image took precedence over integrity, thus leading to behavior that wasn’t holy. Another version of Proverbs 29:25 tells us, “It is dangerous to...

If we live with the consistent goal of pleasing Jesus, we will not slip over to being controlled by how others perceive us; instead, we’ll live in truth.

Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God.

is most wise to pursue His Word in our inward parts—the place that governs our motives and intentions. When we view God’s Word as the greatest treasure to be found and obey what’s revealed, we enter into the safety zone.

When we earnestly seek to know His ways as if there were no superior reward, then we know and understand the fear of the Lord and avoid the deception of projecting a false image. We are now empowered to live by integrity and truth and

have securely planted our feet on the highway (path...

You will serve whom you fear. If you fear God, you’ll obey God. If you fear man, you’ll ultimately obey man’s desires. If you seek to obey others’ desires, you can no longer be a true servant of Jesus Christ.

Dear heavenly Father, I ask You to forgive me for the times I’ve sought the approval of others rather than Your approval. Jesus, I repent of seeking popularity with people over Your approval. I choose to be holy, set apart for You. From this moment forward, You are the one I ultimately seek to please. In Jesus’ name, amen.

One of the strongest cravings we must deny and crucify is self-preservation. It’s the core motivation behind projecting ourselves to be perceived favorably by others—in other words, the fear of man.