Why I fear God more now

Have you read a Christian classic lately? I highly recommend taking up the habit.

John Bunyan’s A Treatise on the Fear of God (1679) is one I’ve begun recently. I chose this book because a personal experience not long ago expanded my view of fearing God, and I wanted to understand this fear better.

What I felt during my encounter was much more than reverence … it was actually a kind of dread. I’ll never forget it. I can’t really explain it.

Reading Bunyan’s first chapter, though, felt like he was explaining my experience to me. His words have paused me for a couple weeks before moving on to chapter two.

I only have space to give you a quick taste of how he puts it: “God may well be the fear of his people … because of the dread and terrible majesty that is in him.”

He points to this verse (among many): “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread” (Is. 8:13).

I think it is immensely valuable to acquire a biblically based fear of the Lord because it drives us to a purer humility that builds deeper trust in him.

There are more dimensions to this fear that we’ll explore (which I previewed when I flipped through some of Bunyan’s later chapters).

While I feel like my own fear of God has been widened by my personal experience, I’m eager to think more deeply about it as I continue through the book.

Has God ever made his power known to you in a way that brought you to your knees in worship? It’s an intimate, frightening, beautiful experience.

Worshiping him,

Tom Harper
Founder, BiblicalLeadership.com
LinkedIn profile | My books