Fear of God

A friend and I have been on a roll discovering situations, conversations, and Scriptural passages that highlight the fear of God. It's everywhere for both of us right now for some reason.

In my systematic (not really) daily (not quite) Bible reading, I came across this psalm today:

⁷ The earth trembled and quaked,and the foundations of the mountains shook;
they trembled because he was angry.

⁸ Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.

⁹ He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.

¹⁰ He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.

¹¹ He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
the dark rain clouds of the sky.

¹² Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

¹³ The LORD thundered from heaven;
the voice of the Most High resounded.

¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies ,
great bolts of lightning and routed them.

¹⁵ The valleys of the sea were exposed
and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

¹⁶ He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷ He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.

¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.

¹⁹ He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:7-19)

Do you see the tension of extremes in God's character? He is powerful and angry, blowing smoke from His nostrils, bringing hail and lightning, and making the mountains shake. And in that infinite, indescribable power, there is intimate connection: "He reached down from on high and took hold of me... he rescued me." That power wasn't to punish or to condemn His child; it was to protect and provide.

Both extremes are part of our God's character. Neither is diminished. Neither is relegated to just one part of Scripture. He is perfectly just, mighty, and holy. He is wholly loving, forgiving, and compassionate.

He is God.

The power that shakes the mountains and makes seas part is the same power that raised my Savior from the dead. And it's the same power that will defeat my enemy and enable me to love those around me supernaturally.

I will tremble before this God. And I will approach His throne of grace with confidence. I will do both because I know the power of my Father. And I know His love. Thanks be to God.