Fruitful Fear

 “So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows.” Jonah 1:15-16 NKJV

It is highly instructive that the same life’s experiences that brought foolish fear out of Jonah made fruitful fear out of the mariners enroute Tarshish (needless to underscore the prompt repentance of the city of Nineveh). And like most people are perpetually devoted to running away from the presence of the Lord, Jonah’s foolish fear recommended (1) disobedience to the commandment of the Lord; (2) soliciting the assistance of the mariners to commit suicide; (3) annoyance with the extension of the mercy of God to Ninevah; and (4) soliciting the assistance of God to commit suicide. He was probably thinking “What else can I do to get emphasis on the POWER of God (i.e., presence, obedience, will, enterprise, and righteousness) out of my affairs?”. Whereas, God is everywhere and the simple truth is that only fools contemplate running away from the presence of the Lord. As clearly exemplified by Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God, “Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and took vows” can surely be the daily life experience of everyone. Fruitful fear simply recognizes and reveres the presence of God in every believer’s daily engagements with the people; the fear of other people or considerations are always baseless.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Loved Life

  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. ”” Galatians 2 : 20 - 21 NKJV Loosed lives often fake liberalism as freedom of expression and privilege to be controlled by societal influences. But in actual fact, this fake liberalism is an expression of an absence of the love that matters, i.e., God’s love. God’s love brings grace through the death and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. So, when Apostle Paul shared the testament of his loved life as “ I have been crucified with Christ “, it confirms that a loved life is a crucified life; and not a copied life. Unfortunately, in our fast-paced world with complex worldviews on diverse subjects, a copied life is faced with complicated opinions on diverse cultural, political, an...
Read more

Peaceful Pathway

  “ Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. ” II Thessalonians 3 : 16 NKJV Truth be told, the pursuit of righteousness is simply and straightforwardly the following of the right pathway, not necessarily the safe, the polite, and the popular pathway. Little wonder Martin Luther King once said, ‘On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, “ Is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “ Is it polite?” And Vanity comes along and asks the question, “ Is it popular? ” But Conscience asks the question, “ Is it right? ”’. Unfortunately, finding the right pathway is not up to philosophers, psychologists, and politicians in our world, to whom there is no such thing as absolute truth. Whereas, the pursuit of the right pathway is the following of the One who says “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me ( John 14 : 6 )”. Jesus is the only Giver of peace; He gives grace, guidance, and ...
Read more

Wrangled Way

  “ Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; They walk in His ways. ” Psalms 119 : 1 - 3 NKJV There is no doubt that those who abuse the grace of God have little or no understanding of the concept of the narrow way. For  “ Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it ” ( Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭13‬-‭14‬).  The narrow way cannot be widened because it is not only strait , it is extremely wrangled. So, when the scriptures proclaimed the blessedness of “ the undefiled in the way ”, it merely commends their consecration to righteousness and commitment to the wrangled way. The wrangled ways are the divine molding wheels for forming God’s children into His effective a...
Read more