A Mother’s Fear of the Lord
Before having children, I thought I knew fear. After all, I felt it during those lean years of my adolescence when my father was out of work and the future seemed bleak. I felt it the first time I backed over the edge to rappel down a mountain cliff and at the last second wanted to scurry back up and turn in my gear. I felt it the year our state burned with brush fires and I watched the news each day for word of my firefighter husband and his crew.
But the fear I’ve felt since having children does not compare. The fear I felt when my son was lost at the zoo and I could not find him still brings tears to my eyes. The fear I felt for my children when they were sick and I didn’t know what to do was immeasurable. The fear I felt when I had a cancer scare and thought they could grow up without a mother was greater than any I’d known before.
Fears for our Children
As moms, we all have fears regarding our children. We fear some harm coming to them. We fear barriers that prevent them from growth and success in life. We fear bad peer influences in their life. We fear them making poor decisions that have long term consequences. Such fears are born out of the deep love we have for our children. Even the Apostle Paul had anxieties for the churches he birthed.[1]
Such fears should not surprise us for we live in a fallen world where bad things do happen. Our world is broken by sin and its impact stretches far and wide. Frightening things do happen. Children do get sick. Many suffer from some kind of limitation or disability. We know too well the impact of friendships that steer us the wrong way. We’ve seen the sad consequence of foolish choices in the lives of others and don’t want our children to do the same.
Sometimes our fears merely serve to move us to do something—to exit a burning building or to seek shelter from a lightning storm. Other times, our fears can paralyze us. They can make us immobile and keep us from living our lives. They can also make us strive all the more to protect our children from harm. We may labor to control their lives in such a way that no harm comes to them. We can order and structure and rule over their lives in the hopes that this dark world will not penetrate our efforts. We can place our hope in these measures to protect our children, trusting in those solutions rather than in the God who holds the world in his hands.
Do Not Fear
As believers, we know Scripture tells us not to fear. Over and over we encounter admonitions such as, “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isa. 41:10), and we wonder how that is even possible. How does a mother not fear when life is just so fearful? How does a mother send her child out into the world and not feel gripped by terror that something bad may happen?
Just how do we live in a fearful world without being ruled by fear?
When God’s Word calls us not to fear, it isn’t as though God is saying something trite like a well-meaning friend might say when she says, “You just need to have more faith and you won’t be so afraid.” When God tells us not to fear, it is usually in the context of divine revelation, such as when God’s people were called to fight a battle or when a prophet warned of pending punishment for sin. Such a command is intended to comfort God’s people and to encourage them to trust in him. For example, when God delivered his people from Pharaoh and they came to the Red Sea and saw the Egyptians in fast pursuit behind them, they feared for their lives. Moses said to them, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again” (Ex. 14:13).
God tells us not to fear, not because of something we need to do, but because of who he is, for he is greater than all our fears.
Fear the Lord
There’s another repeated command in Scripture: “fear the Lord.” The Bible teaches us to not fear what others may do to us, what others may think of us, what the unknown future holds, what harm may come, but to instead fear the Lord. Fear the Lord? What does that mean? How does fearing God help us when we fear for our children?
The fear of the Lord is different from our other fears. The word “fear” in the context of fearing the Lord means awe or reverence. God calls his children to fear him with a holy fear. He calls us to respond to him with awe, wonder, love, adoration, trust, and worship. The fear of the Lord is like the fear a child has for his father. He wants to honor and please him; he doesn’t want to disappoint him. He looks to his father in trust, knowing he provides for him and meets his needs. He runs to his father when he is hurt or afraid and knows his father will help and protect him. This is the fear we have for God.
We are beloved children of our Father in heaven. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be his own. He rescued and redeemed us from our greatest fear—eternity apart from him—through the blood of the Son. He is our Maker and Creator. He keeps and sustains us. He provides for our needs. He hears all our cries and captures all our tears. He rules over all things—from the sparrow that falls to the earth to the traffic that made us late to work to the friend that called to talk at the exact moment we needed encouragement—and uses all things for our good and his glory. And in the face of our fears, God calls us to run to him, to cry out to him for help and rescue, and to see him as greater than all that we fear. He calls us to fear him above all else. To see that he rules over all things. To know that he is our refuge and strength. To trust him to deliver and save us.
It’s true, there is much to fear in our broken world. Until Christ returns to make all things new, we will face fearful circumstances. We will have fears for our children. But when we face such fears, may we remember who God is and what he has done. There is no one and nothing greater than our God. He is with us and for us. When fears pursue us, let us find our refuge in him.
[1] 2 Corinthians 11:28
