A remaining and perplexing secret fear

"God is relational but because many of us carry a secret fear of Him, we do not make ourselves available to Him. He is our only source of security, identity, and belonging. Many times when ministering to others we feel adequate, loved, and rewarded by them. We are taking the "well-done" from the wrong source. In God's presence, however, we don't experience that same sense of adequacy, freedom, or comfort level. Because of this we give ourselves to ministry and not to Him. This, I am certain, is one of the meanings behind the text in Matthew 7:23, "depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."

(From "Dr. Frankenstein and World Systems' - by Bob Mumford - copyright 2003)

I can relate to this in more ways than one. I've asked people from time to time why am I and we many times still seem to have a secret fear of God in our hearts? It just seems like there is something between us that still causes us in the deep inward parts of our being and make up to somehow still be afraid of God in an unhealthy way. He freely accepts others but there are still things He frowns on in me the thinking goes many times. It's like you feel and believe He is still requiring something of you but you really don't know what it might be. There's still just something between me and Him but really? Is it our old man still wanting to earn its way? Rejection that is unhealed? Our core belief system should be that He is a GOOD GOD AND FATHER but that secret fear of Him lurks and lurks and still has life. I know at least mentally where the solution lies but it still gets frustrating at times. Many of us struggle to even admit the secret fear may be there. It leads to crippled saints versus spiritually and mentally and healthy sons and daughters. What EXACTLY is the fear? If it had a name what is it and what causes it?

1 John 4:17-19, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us."

Any "fear" is a LIE of the devil. It does not belong to us! It is not ours!! Just a lie that can rejected because as He is, so are we in this world NOW.

Excellent post David.

For some people, like me, it’s not fear of the Lord (in a "scared” sense) but rather the mindset "why would God bother with the likes of me?”

It leads to a very dangerous mindset of prayerlessness (" I don’t deserve for God to listen to my prayer, so why pray”) which is EXACTLY what the enemy wants.

Please forgive me if I’m misunderstanding,... are you all saying we shouldn’t fear the Lord, or that if someone does fear Him that it is wrong and spiritually unhealthy?

Thank you for being patient with me-

There is healthy and unhealthy fear of the Lord.

The post with the compilation "The Fear of God- have we lost it” describes healthy fear.

A fear that manifests in the form "God wants nothing to do with me” is unhealthy.

If you have a wrong view of God or if you are not rooted and grounded in His love for you, you will hold back from true intimacy, true relationship, with Him. Paul prays for the church at Ephasus that they would be rooted and grounded in love and would fully comprehend the love that God has for them, so that they would be filled with His fullness. You cannot be filled with the fullness of God if you are drawing back from Him due to fear.

Please understand I mean no vulgarity here but the closest of all human relationships, the intimacy between husband and wife, will he hindered if a bride's true understanding of the love of her husband is not present. She will never submit herself to the fullness of that relationship and no fruit will be born of their union. The same is true of the bride and Christ. Remember that in Paul's teaching on marriage he often said, "Look guys, although I speak of marriage, I am really speaking of Christ and the church" .

God created each and every one of us in and for His image and glory. He had eternal destiny in each of us from before the very foundations of the world. Sin messed all of that up, but Christ restored it. So few of us really grasp that redemption is not about God's wrath being barely appeased so that we who are naturally unholy can somehow be acceptable enough to earn some blessings and get to Heaven. He paid the ultimate price to redeem me so that He could restore me to all that was lost in sin. I am a new creation, I am righteous and truly holy through Christ, I am no longer in sin or under its dominion, power or influence. I am dead, and now Christ lives in and through me. He loved me so much, His desire was so great for me, that Christ submitted Himself to the cross before Adam and Eve were ever created. WOW!!!

This perspective held by a born again people opens us up to all that He has for us. As for fear, there are two kinds. The proper fear of the Lord has at its roots His great love and sacrifice. Given that my creator paid such a high price for me fills me with a reverence and awe that causes me to desire to do anything, give up anything, suffer anything for His great name's sake. Given that I had no hope of life and that He condescended in order to give me His causes me to fall on my face before Him in worship and adoration. This is the fear of the Lord for a man born again.

/Please forgive me if I’m misunderstanding,... are you all saying we shouldn’t fear the Lord, or that if someone does fear Him that it is wrong and spiritually unhealthy?

Thank you for being patient with me/

I believe the respectful and reverential fear of the Lord is one of the most important and chief things a Christian can cultivate. It is healthy and should be the normal outlook of one in relation with a eternal, omnipotent and above all a holy God who dwells in unapproachable light. Ye there seems for many to still be a lingering and ill defined fear of God that plagues us and keeps us from truly experiencing Him as a Father and good God. It seems hard to define at times as to its cause but it is still there. I know I have experienced it. Like Brother Mumford said we can minister and proclaim our victory in Christ before others but when we are alone with God we are not so sure and don't have the freedom and security in God we proclaim before others. I guess in my case I feel like God is still looking at me and some of my inadequacies and is casting a critical eye upon me because of this. I guess. This thing is hard to identify and define at times. And Satan has loosed the spirit of condemnation upon and into the world. Yet Christ said God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:17). But it still seems hard to believe at times that because of my salvation I am truly a son and can come to my heavenly Father totally accepted in Christ. This should be a core belief in our hearts leading to intimacy with God but many are still "nervous" in the presence of the Father. Some may not experience this so I am not trying to lay it on everyone and yet if we do experience it it surely will not be healed by psychology. It takes a revelation from the Father I suppose. Information fills the head while revelation transforms and changes the heart. May God give me and His church a deeper revelation of His true goodness and Fatherhood.

Blessings to you.

Good word David. Thank you for posting.

I also thought your former post up above was excellent. Thank you for taking the time to share with us.

Blessings and peace to you in the presence of the Father.

The fear of The Lord,...

Please note, David, I am not narrowing this at you,..
We are all in this.

We search out in The Word, to see / know, how fear is used.
I find that people try to soften that Word, to lower it value.

In the beginning,.. Adam and Eve, were in perfect union with God,..they had NO fear,... but when sin / disobedience came into their lives,.. look what happened,...

Gen.3:8,
"And they heard ‘the *voice of the LORD God’ *walking* in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife ‘HID’ themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”

Vs.10-11,
"And he said, ‘I heard *thy voice’ in the garden, and ‘I was afraid’, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11 ¶ And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? "

””””””””””-

(So Then they tried to make their own covering to cloth themselves...put something on, to hide their / our own nakedness.,?... but God it is, who clothes us w/ righteousness,.daily,....that we won’t appear before Him naked and ashamed.)

they feared God...why?

why do we / I too, fear God ?......
we know He is The Father,..

Why did we fear our natural father ?
.....we never had to fear him when we were abiding under his authority.

* "the fear of The Lord, is the beginning of ‘wisdom”,...
because in fearing Him, we seek to know Him,.. we seek to see His Way,..we seek to ‘understand’ what He is saying,...so that we can walk I. His Way.

But when did we start doing this?
Was it not when , at the beginning of His Grace started drawing us to Him ?
... when we put His yoke upon us, and learn of Him?

Yes,.. so that we may ‘know’ Him.

To know Him is ‘eternal Life’ , ... where we don’t have to fear.
I believe He offers us Life,.. His Life every day,.. always.,... but what do we do w/ it?... do we except His Life, (Way) or do we choose our way?

But what is our remedy for this fear,...
I would say, drawing close to God, Who is The Spirit of His Word,.. voice,.. speaking.

Would peace be the opposite of fear ?
.

Isa.26:3,
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."

2Cor.13:11,
1>"Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace;
>2 ‘AND’ the God of love and peace shall be with you.”

1Jn.4:18-19,
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”
19 "We love him, because he first loved us.”

But what is ‘perfect love’ ?

This is perfect love:
* loving Him

Mt.22:37,
"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt ‘love the Lord thy God’ with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

......if, ..and when,.. we do this, we have no fear,...fear is cast out .... then we will have cast ourselves upon Him and we will have total trust in Him.

Do we falter ?,... but we must remember where we have fallen back.

Rev.2:5,
"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

James 4:8,
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.”...... (and me)
( Draw nigh unto His Spirit; Word, ...voice,.....speakings)

*You know,.. I am wondering can’t we just push His Words, voice, speaking to us, aside, and put our word, voice, ... way in place, until it can grow very faint,.. lose it strength / power to transform?
””””””””””””””-
elizabeth