“Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31 KJV)
“…in the fear of the Lord…” Let me depart for a brief second from the usual definitions of fear. Those definitions which use terms like “fright” or “alarm”. Allow me instead to use a term like “presence” here. Why? If you use a term like fright or alarm, your focus quickly changes to what do I need to do to avoid such a situation. It can also beg the question of, what am I missing if I don’t have a fear (or at least a healthy respect for)? Once the focus is off of the object of this fear (the Lord) then the damage is inevitable. So, look back at that phrase “…in the fear of the Lord…”. Do you see what happens? Your brain only gets as far as the word “fear”. Then comes the introspection of “do I have a fear (or respect) for?”, “am I afraid of”, or “I at least need to walk softly here”. Your management skills have kicked in. We’re trying to manage our feelings and / or behavior so that we can fit an attribute that we think we need.
So, how does changing this (briefly) to “presence” help? It is understandable that our brains do what is described above if we are sufficiently far away from something. You can see this in the way that we dialog with people. You speak one way when you’re standing there looking them in the eye. A slightly different way when speaking to them on the phone. Still more different than when sending them an email. Even more different when simply posting something on a chat somewhere that you think they may be able to read when they get around to it. The further that you get from that person’s presence, the less conscious that you are how or what you say may have an effect on them. I do get that there are those who are equally calloused no matter how they communicate, but that is just it. We don’t want that callousness. As we begin to understand that the people around us are real, and what we have to share with them is real, that term “fear” now takes on another perspective. Now, when you see a phrase like “…in the fear of…” you want to know what that object is. Are we talking to your parents, your spouse, your kids, your neighbor, your employer, your student, you get the idea. Now, “who” that object is is key! Whose presence am I in? Now we can go back and take terms like “fright”, “alarm”, or even “respect” and see the actual application here. You don’t necessarily need to fear your neighbor, but once you realize that this is a real person in your neighborhood it changes how you want to obtain and maintain a best possible relationship. At least for a sensible person, it develops a care within us to be sure to handle situations as best as we can. Conversely, you can see how a person who has no sense loses any chance of obtaining some the longer that they ignore the realness of the people around them.
Which brings us back to the rest of Acts 9. These people had comfort, were edified, and were multiplying because the whole community has a very healthy awareness of the presence of God as Lord. They perceive that he is working. They perceive that he is present. Now we can begin to introspect in ways that cause us to dive back into his word. Begin to meditate on what he is telling us. Fill our hearts with his praise. Listen to his Spirit as that still small voice which is trying to grow our sensibilities. Really spend intentional time in prayer where at least the first half of it is just listening. As we grow in understanding and realization of God’s presence, we also begin to realize more fully the wonder of what that phrase “…in the fear of the Lord…” really means!
“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” (Malachi 4:2 KJV)