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Who made you? God or man,
In the cosmic plan, where destinies span.
Faith intertwined with the fear of God,
Will put you in line with God’s great plan.

The fear of God, our compass in the wilderness,
Faith in God guides you in divine righteousness,
Who can save you? Man or God?
Let’s lean on the Divine Rod, the One true Lord.

The fear of God, a mirror reflecting the soul,
Faith in God reveals truths that make us whole,
The fear of God is a fortress strong and tall,
Faith in God guards against the enemy’s every call.

The fear of God a flawless antivirus,
Faith defends us from the malware of wicked vices,
The fear of God, a mic-drop moment in the soul,
Faith makes us whole when we heed every Divine Scroll.

Faith in God unlocks the secrets of life’s grand dreams,
The fear of God gives you joy than all the latest memes,
Faith drops blessings brighter than spotlights and laser beams,
Holding tight to Christ, the supreme who redeems.

Faith in God wins over my life’s darkest night,
The fear of God brings the dawn of eternal light,
When walking, faith puts me on the fastest flight,
Faith in God protects than a shining armor knight.

Hebrews 11:7 (KJV) – “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”

When God warned Noah of the flood that would come, he moved with fear. Whom did Noah fear? Is it God or man? The Bible tells us that God warned Noah and instructed him to build an ark (Genesis 6:13-21). We can see in Noah’s story that only Noah and his family entered the ark (Genesis 7).

Genesis 6:9 describes Noah as a just man, perfect in his generation and one who walked with God. Even before God commanded Noah to build the ark, Noah’s ways pleased God. This means that Noah was always God-fearing. The other inhabitants of the earth did not fear God, so they were not saved.

The fear of God caused Noah to proceed with faith and act immediately. Genesis 6:22 (NKJV) – “Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” The fear of God caused Noah to obey everything that God said.

The benefits brought by the fear of God are innumerable. Some of them are:

1. The Fear of God increases knowledge

Proverbs 1:7 (KJV) – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

The fear of God enables one to increase in knowledge. By having faith in God and obeying God, Noah increased in knowledge of God. Later, he witnessed God’s power bringing a flood and destroying all the disobedient people. The rain had never fallen on the earth. Therefore, it seemed ridiculous to some people when Noah told them a flood was coming.

With his encounter with God, Noah realized that with God, nothing is impossible. He realized that God can cause things that have never happened to happen. Through the building of the ark, Noah increased in other skills. He had never built such a structure before. It was advantageous when God gave him that assignment as he knew how to build an ark that would sail through the water withstanding the great flood.

In his 120 years of service, Noah learnt of the materials to use from the natural environment to build such a magnificent and sturdy structure. He learnt skills in carpentry also. A lot of science was learnt in the construction of the ark, and this education was highly beneficial to Noah. Noah acquired spiritual fruits such as patience because 120 years is a long time to build something. One must have patience and discipline to take a project from ideation to completion.

If you take a step of faith and write that Christian book that you have been procrastinating on, you will increase in knowledge because you will have to read and research more to find content to add to the book. If you take a step of faith and start a corporation, you will increase in knowledge because you will learn how a business is operated through the process. Faith combined with the fear of God leads to more acquisition of information. Not only does it lead to more acquisition of information, but it also leads to the acquisition of useful information.

• The fear of God increases wisdom

Proverbs 9:10 (KJV) – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”

Wisdom is the application of information. The fear of God enables one to apply the knowledge they have acquired correctly. Not only does it help them to apply knowledge correctly, but it also makes them apply it in the best possible way.

If we surrender our limited knowledge to the infinite one, the application of it is infinite. He whose ways and thoughts are higher than ours wants us to mingle with Him so that our ways and thoughts can be as high as heaven is from the earth. Created in His image, He desires us to reflect His infinite nature in our finite lives. He will give you infinite ideas on how to use your knowledge if you obey Him.

Some professors with multiple university degrees have a low view of God because of their pride in their high level of education. As a result, they are limited in ways to apply that knowledge and end up doing little with the much knowledge they have gained.

Ellen G. White was a grade three dropout who wrote over one million pages covering all life topics. Millions worldwide have read her books. Through the application of the Biblical knowledge that flows from her books many have succeeded in various fields. She achieved that feat because she feared God and acknowledged Him to be the source of all knowledge and wisdom. As a result, God worked through her to do a tremendous job. Faith increases one in wisdom and understanding.

• The fear of God brings riches, honour and life

Proverbs 22:4 (KJV) – “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.”

Through faith, the fear of God brings riches and honour and life. Going back to the example of Noah, he acted by faith and was able to save his life and the lives of his family members. Rahab also acted by faith, and when the city of Jericho and its inhabitants were destroyed, she and her family members were saved.

The fifth commandment tells us to honour our parents if we want to lengthen our days. If we fear God and obey this commandment, God will keep His promise since we have faith in the one who is life (John 14:6; Genesis 2:7).

The fear of God brings wealth/blessings (Deuteronomy 8:1-2; Deuteronomy 28:1-13; Joshua 1:8; Daniel 7:27; Leviticus 26:1-13; Isaiah 58:13-14). The fear of God brings honour. Solomon was highly honoured that foreign royal people, such as the Queen of Sheba, came to seek his counsel (1 Kings 10:1-12 & 2 Chronicles 9:1-13).

Joseph feared God. He overcame the temptation of Potiphar’s wife. This caused him to be thrown in prison, but he was later released and placed as the Prime Minister of Egypt (Genesis 39-41). The genuine fear of God he had, brought him riches and honour. It also brought him and his family life as he had divine wisdom on governing Egypt during the famine. Therefore, when famine arose, he could feed himself, his family, Egypt and various other nations coming to Egypt to acquire food.

Hebrews 11:23 (KJV) – “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.”

Moses’ parents feared God and understood the value of Moses. By faith, they believed that it was God’s will to have their child alive. Through faith, they acted shrewdly and hid Moses so he would not be killed. Many of us don’t act by faith because we do not know the will of God. We do not know the will of God in our lives because we do not read His Word.

The Bible says in Romans 10:17 (KJV) – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Faith is increased by constant study and obedience to God’s Word. “If studied and obeyed, the Word of God works in the heart, subduing every unholy attribute.” – Christ Object Lessons, Page 100.1, Ellen G. White.

Hebrews 11:24-27 (KJV) – “²⁴ By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; ²⁵ Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; ²⁶ Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. ²⁷ By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.”

Moses feared God more than he feared Pharaoh. By faith, he chose to suffer affliction with the Israelites than enjoy the pleasures of sin, which are seasonal. He understood that the affliction one may face in the cause of God is temporary while the rewards are eternal.

Therefore, he chose to endure the temporary problems in exchange for eternal life. He acted contrary to Esau, who exchanged a lifetime birth rite for a plate of food. Job feared God and refused to heed the counsel of his wife, who told him to curse God and die. His actions caused him to regain his health and receive double his previous riches. The parents of John the Baptist feared God and stood firmly to name their child John despite the pressure from relatives and friends (Luke 1).

The thief on the cross who pleaded with Jesus had faith that Jesus is the Messiah. At the last minute, he inherited eternal life. The fear of God gave him life. While the other one probably lost his life because he did not have a fear of God as he mocked Jesus (Luke 23:32-43).

We should only fear God, not man.

Jeremiah 17:5-6 (KJV) – “⁵ Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. ⁶ For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.”

Many of us fear fellow men more than God. We trust men more than God. Men can disappoint you because they cannot control what happens to them. God can never disappoint you because nothing can happen to Him that is why He can’t lie (Numbers 23:19). Men are finite but God is infinite. Men are mortal, but God is immortal.

All created beings (including humans) are dependent, but God is independent. All men don’t know how something will end, but God knows the end from the beginning. Men are weak but God is strong. Men are limited in everything, but God is unlimited in all good things. Men constantly try to figure out the way in life, but God is the way (John 14:6). What is impossible with men is possible with God.

Had Joseph’s brothers known this, they would fear God and love their brother instead of selling him to Egypt for slavery. The lack of fear of the Lord caused them to lack faith in their actions, and thus they did what was detestable to God and to their family. Their action brought sorrow to their father and guilt among themselves.

Samson went contrary to God’s command and married a foreign wife, Delilah. His hair was cut, and he lost his strength, so the Philistines overpowered him. God gave him physical strength that was beyond anyone in the world to defend the Israelites, but the strength given by God as a gift turned out to be a curse because of a lack of fear of God.

God gave Solomon great wisdom and riches in that no one before was like him, and no one after him reached his level. Like Samson, he married from foreign lands. He married numerous foreign wives who seduced him to worship other gods, and he built altars for his wives’ gods to please them. His administration which was once favoured by God, started going down. He who once wrote, “Righteousness exalteth a nation”, had his nation subside due to unrighteousness.

“Solomon’s course brought its sure penalty. His separation from God through communication with idolaters was his ruin. As he cast off his allegiance to God, he lost the mastery of himself. His moral efficiency was gone. His fine sensibilities became blunted, his conscience seared. He who in his early reign had displayed so much wisdom and sympathy in restoring a helpless babe to its unfortunate mother (see 1 Kings 3:16-28), fell so low as to consent to the erection of an idol to whom living children were offered as sacrifices. He who in his youth was endowed with discretion and understanding, and who in his strong manhood had been inspired to write, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12), in later years departed so far from purity as to countenance licentious, revolting rites connected with the worship of Chemosh and Ashtoreth. He who at the dedication of the temple had said to his people, “Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God” (1 Kings 8:61), became himself an offender, in heart and life denying his own words. He mistook license for liberty. He tried—but at what cost!—to unite light with darkness, good with evil, purity with impurity, Christ with Belial.” – Prophets and Kings, Page 57.2, Ellen G. White.

Whatever course you pursue, there will always be results or consequences. If you do right, you are assured of blessings; if you do wrong, you are assured of penalties. Solomon thought through his great wisdom that he could do the impossible: uniting light with darkness. Light and darkness can never mix. They are distinct, opposite and separate. Solomon thought that by marrying foreign wives, he could convert them.

Ellen G. White, in her book Prophets and Kings, Page 53.2, says, “From a human point of view, this marriage, though contrary to the teachings of God’s law, seemed to prove a blessing; for Solomon’s heathen wife was converted and united with him in the worship of the true God. Furthermore, Pharaoh rendered signal service to Israel by taking Gezer, slaying “the Canaanites that dwelt in the city,” and giving it “for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’s wife.” 1 Kings 9:16. This city Solomon rebuilt and thus apparently greatly strengthened his kingdom along the Mediterranean seacoast. But in forming an alliance with a heathen nation, and sealing the compact by marriage with an idolatrous princess, Solomon rashly disregarded the wise provision that God had made for maintaining the purity of His people. The hope that his Egyptian wife might be converted was but a feeble excuse for the sin.”

“From being one of the greatest kings that ever wielded a scepter, Solomon became a profligate, the tool and slave of others. His character, once noble and manly, became enervated and effeminate. His faith in the living God was supplanted by atheistic doubts. Unbelief marred his happiness, weakened his principles, and degraded his life. The justice and magnanimity of his early reign were changed to despotism and tyranny. Poor, frail human nature! God can do little for men who lose their sense of dependence upon Him.” – Prophets and Kings, Page 58.1, Ellen G. White.

Unbelief causes great harm to our lives. It deprives us of joy, and it degrades our lives. Believing in God gives us a calm spirit even when the life storms are raging. One can seem to succeed from unrighteousness, but such success does not bring joy. The wicked may be smiling and laughing but smiling and laughing is not always a true depiction of happiness. Some smile to cover the stress and pressure that they are undergoing through their poor decisions.

God has ordained us to be a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), but like Solomon, sin causes us to be tools and slaves of others. It is dangerous to be under the control of the fear of men. Such are the ways of death. Therefore, do not fail to spread the gospel because you fear what others will think of you. Do not fear to talk about the Sabbath because the majority of the Christian community does not follow it. Do not fear to answer an altar call because you fear what the person next to you will think of you. If you want God to bestow immeasurable blessings in your life, always depend on Him.

 “Fear Grieves the Holy Spirit—Faith takes God at His Word, not asking to understand the meaning of the trying experiences that come. But there are many who have little faith. They are always fearing and borrowing trouble. Every day they are surrounded by the tokens of God’s love, every day they enjoy the bounties of His providence; but they overlook these blessings. And the difficulties they encounter, instead of driving them to God, separate them from Him, by arousing unrest and repining…. Jesus is their Friend. All heaven is interested in their welfare, and their fear and repining grieve the Holy Spirit. Not because we see or feel that God hears us are we to believe. We are to trust His promises. When we come to Him in faith, we should believe that every petition enters into the heart of Christ. When we have asked for His blessing, we should believe that we receive it, and thank Him that we have it. Then we are to go about our duties, assured that the blessing will be sent when we need it most. When we have learned to do this, we shall know that our prayers are answered. God will do for us “exceeding abundantly,” “according to the riches of His glory”, and “the working of His mighty power.”—Gospel Workers, 261, 262 (1915), Ellen G. White.

When Eve sinned and chose to follow the Devil’s word, she was surrounded by the evidence of God’s Word. The Serpent that talked to her was created by the Word of God, and the tree which the Serpent was on resulted from God’s Word. The land she was standing on was made by the Word of God. There was proof everywhere of the power of God and no proof of the power of the Devil. She had every reason to trust God and no reason to trust the Devil.

The same applies to us. We have every reason to trust God, but we choose to trust Satan. We choose to obey Satan rather than God. The deceiver who never gives us any evidence to trust him probably laughs at our foolishness, for he has been able to convince us with no evidence. Solomon had seen God giving him all the blessings he possessed. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 1:15 that silver and gold were like common stones in Solomon’s time. We can see in 1 Kings 3:11-14 that God gave him all those things.

“Faith Grows in Conflict With Doubt and Fear—The Lord frequently places us in difficult positions to stimulate us to greater exertion. In His providence special annoyances sometimes occur to test our patience and faith. God gives us lessons of trust. He would teach us where to look for help and strength in time of need. Thus we obtain practical knowledge of His divine will, which we so much need in our life experience. Faith grows strong in earnest conflict with doubt and fear.” -Testimonies for the Church 4:116, 117 (1876), Ellen G. White.

Faith and fear can never abide in the same house. They can never walk or cycle or drive on the same road. When faith takes a right turn, fear takes a left, and when faith goes up, fear goes down. They may start with the same alphabetical letter, ‘f,’ but faith depicts strength while fear depicts weakness. The way faith comes before fear, in the dictionary, is the same way faith should come before fear in our lives. A step of faith, especially when it’s dark, is highly essential because we are the light of the world. The dark world needs more men of faith who will stand at all corners and light up the entire world.

“Distrusting God They Have a Thousand Fears—Many neglect to lay up for themselves a treasure in heaven by doing good with the means that God has lent them. They distrust God and have a thousand fears in regard to the future. Like the children of Israel they have evil hearts of unbelief.” –Mind Character and Personality, Volume 2, Page 474.2, Ellen G. White.

“So also are the distrustful, professed people of God in this age of unbelief and degeneracy. They fear that they may come to want, or that their children may become needy, or that their grandchildren will be destitute. They dare not trust God. They have no genuine faith in Him who has entrusted them with the blessings and bounties of life, and who has given them talents to use to His glory in advancing His cause.” —Testimonies for the Church 2:656, 657 (1871), Ellen G. White.

The Bible says in Habakkuk 2:4 (KJV) – “The just shall live by his faith.” When people know their ways please the Lord, they have nothing to worry about. Fear normally comes when a person knows they have committed a sin. Thieves and armed robbers are always on the lookout for the police because they know the crimes they have committed. The same applies to drug dealers and other criminals.

Each sin one commits pinches a portion of their self-confidence and self-esteem. If cherished constantly for some time, the person will be deprived of confidence and courage. When you are righteous, you need not be anxious. You may have paid the tithe but are working hard, and your payments from your workplace or clients are delayed. Do not be afraid. God will never leave you nor forsake you. He will surely do something good for you.

“Counseling With Fears Strengthens Them—If we take counsel with our doubts and fears or try to solve everything that we cannot see clearly before we have faith, perplexities will only increase and deepen. But if we come to God, feeling helpless and dependent, as we really are, and in humble, trusting faith make known our wants to Him whose knowledge is infinite, who sees everything in creation and who governs everything by His Will and Word, He can and will attend to our cry and will let light shine into our hearts. Through sincere prayer, we are brought into connection with the mind of the Infinite. We may have no remarkable evidence at the time that the face of our Redeemer is bending over us in compassion and love, but this is even so. We may not feel His visible touch, but His hand is upon us in love and pitying tenderness.” —Steps to Christ, 96, 97 (1892), Ellen G. White.

Psalm 25:14 (KJV) – “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant.”

Faith goes hand in hand with the fear of the Lord. Let’s all fear God.

GOD BLESS YOU!

Prayer

Dear God, I thank You for all You have done for me. Help me to show reverence to You at all times and to walk according to Your will. Please make me have the fear of You before my face, that I sin not. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Please make me acquire knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. In Jesus name, Amen.

Activity

Write down all instances you have acted in fear of man instead of God and ask God to help you not to repeat them. Also, ask God to help you to always act in fear of Him.

Author: Mark Alex   

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