Are we to fear God or not?

The fear of God is held in balance with His great love for His people. A God whose power is to be feared, so fiercely loves us that that fear is turned into a place of safety. A God who is so powerful that His voice can break cedars descends as a dove and allows a man to anoint His head with water. A God who loves us, sees us, protects us, once walked amongst us.

Fear God or Fear Not. - Isaiah 43:1-7

Fear not is a common theme throughout Scripture. Isaiah 43:1-7 is an exhortation to God’s people to not be in fear, to trust the One who made them.

There is no promise in these versus that hard times will not come, there is only a promise that God will not abandon us during those times. “When you pass through the waters, I am with you; when you pass ² through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not harm ³ you (43:2).” When I read verse 2 images of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea (Exodus 14), crossing the Jordan (Joshua 3), and Daniel and his 3 friends surviving the fiery furnace (Daniel 3) come to mind. God did not remove the hard, they still had to walk in faith. His people had to place one foot in front of another and trust that no matter what happened God had this. They had to be willing to trust in order to see God’s miracles.

To think that we are free from suffering because we belong to God is foolish. Suffering will come (see The Dove of Peace). He is promising to draw His people back to Him, to always love them, to always be there for them.

If you are walking with someone in the midst of suffering now, I highly recommend the book Just Show Up by Kara Tippetts and Jill Lynn Buteyn.

Fear Him - Psalm 29

If Isaiah 43 is a call to not fear the Lord because of His love for His people, Psalms 29 is praise for the overpowering splendor of God. His power is displayed here as greater then the Canaanite storm god Baal. Using imagery of shouting, bending and breaking cedars, thunderstorms, fire, and engulfing waters a warrior-king is depicted. He is one who is fiercely capable of defending and restoring His people. In a world filled with war and strange gods, He is the ultimate protector.

His power is to be feared, but not by His people. For His own it is a source of security.

All His People - Acts 8:14-17

At first I wanted to just pass by this passage. What does it have to do with God’s love for His people, the overpowering splendor of God, or the Gospel passage about Jesus’ baptism?

God is consistent in that when people seek Him He shows up. Romans 10:13 says, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Those in Samaria had heard and accepted what they had heard of the Lord so the apostles went to them. They went to Samaritans, the marginalized, the woman at the well (John 4). There’s a reason Christ used the Samaritan as a main character in his parable about loving our neighbors. Jews and Samaritans were not fond of each other, yet that did not stop the apostles from sharing the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Baptism of the Lord - Luke 3:15-17, 21-22

We’ve passed through Advent Season. The baby Jesus has grown up, walked amongst us, and begun His earthly ministry. Suddenly the Holy Spirit becomes more prominent, proclaiming the deity of Jesus at His baptism. Though suffering comes, though the cross lies before Christ, the comfort and presence of God is with us. The power of God in Psalms, the one who thunders from heaven also descends as a dove in Luke, is our safety and our comfort. His love for His people so clearly displayed in Isaiah 43 leaves us with the promise of His presence before and after the cross.

Here, at His baptism, in Luke 3 Christ’s earthly ministry begins.

May you find peace in your suffering, may you always look towards the hope that Christ’s sacrifice has given us. May the dove of peace go before you.

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