The fear of God the Bible encourages is the fear or concern that we may break God’s heart!Since God is love and love is a factor of the heart, God seeks to relate to us from His heart to ours. Otherwise, it is merely an intellectual connection. Intellectual connections are not relationships, they are arrangements that usually revolve around our calculation of what will benefit us. We only stay in those types of arrangements until we perceive a better offer elsewhere.

God desires for us to be toward Him as He is toward us. He is careful and cautious with our heart to be sure He never breaks it. He gives by His own initiative because love compels Him to put our needs ahead of His own. He is always tender and kind, He never abandons us and when we abandon Him He is ever ready to restore the relationship. These are just a few of the characteristics the Bible details about God’s love for us. That is how He desires for us to relate to Him!

God uses the biblical model of a husband and wife to portray this love relationship we have. In Ephesians He points out that it is the husband’s role to inspire every positive response he desires from his wife. In our carnal, chauvinistic, unscriptural interpretation of the husband/wife connection men seem to somehow think it is appropriate to demand that a wife submit or demand that she fulfill his expectations, but is not what the Scripture teaches. Love and its actions can never be demanded. Actions that are a response to a demand are never from a heart of love, but fear! God never wants us to relate to Him out of fear that He will harm us. The fear of God the Bible encourages is the fear or concern that we may break God’s heart! Likewise, He is ever watchful not to break our heart!

JOIN ME this week as we explore connecting to the heart of God and expand your capacity to know and feel the love of God!