Third Saturday in Advent

What Do You Fear Most?

What nightmare jars you awake in the middle of the night? Even the boldest among us, if honest, will admit that something scares us. Some of us fear rejection. Countless books promoting healthy living reveal that many of us fear aging and death. Everyone fears something. What do you fear the most?

Several times in my life fear has dominated my thoughts. As a young man, I feared failure. This fear shackled me, pushing me with the insane goal of excelling over everyone else. Recognition temporarily calmed my fears but never eliminated them. At other times I morbidly feared losing my wife, children, or parents in some tragic accident. Right now, as I near the end of my seminary education, the fear of graduating without a clear direction from the Lord sits at the top of my list of anxieties. What if I finish five years of schooling and can’t find a ministry job? All those who called me crazy for giving up a lucrative career to return to school will laugh and say, “I told you so!”

When US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the nation just prior to the Great Depression, he said, “It is my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself . . . In such a spirit on my part and on yours, we face our common difficulties.” Unhealthy fears often paralyze; however, a healthy fear can often help. Healthy fear can serve as a motivator. The prophet Malachi understood the value of healthy fear as he warned disobedient Judah of the imminent coming of God’s vindicating messenger and judge.

The Lord’s message through Malachi rang clear: “I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify” (Mal 3:5). The courtroom scene continues with a list of offenses: Divination (practicing sorcery), adultery, breaking promises, exploiting the helpless, and refusing to help strangers in need. In case you breathed a sigh of relief because you do not practice sorcery, remember that breaking promises and refusing to help strangers both find their place on the list. The accusations touch and condemn everyone.

The Lord clearly wanted Judah to obey, but that doesn’t hit the heart of the passage: When the people committed offenses, they betrayed the real issue by showing that they “‘do not fear me,’ says the Lord who rules over all” (v. 5). Judah lost its fear of the Lord, and Malachi urged them to repent. Many of us today do not have a healthy respect for the Lord. Fear, respect and reverence precede true obedience.

What would Malachi say to us? When the fear of the Lord disappears, sin crouches at the doorstep ready to pounce. Do we obey the Lord out of a reverent and respectful heart? As “the Lord who rules over all,” he demands and deserves our utmost respect. When that besetting sin confronts you, does a healthy fear of the Lord keep you in check? Do you have a healthy fear of the Lord? — Jim Leavenworth

Prayers:

Father, you reign supreme as the Lord over all. Help me never to take the cross of your Son for granted. Help me to come face-to-face each day with my own sinfulness, and bring me to my knees before you in humble submission. Lord grant me a joyful heart of obedience formed from a healthy reverence and respect for you, the sovereign King of all Kings and the Savior of my soul. Amen.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead

And his kingdom will have no end.

Photo credit: Tyler Nix on Unsplash