As a child, I was afraid of God because I did not understand what it means to “fear the Lord.”

My love for God wasn’t supposed to scare me because God perfects love in us to drive out fear (1 John 4:18).

The word fear is used in the Bible mainly to convey that we should revere and honor God because of who he is—his holiness, majesty, purity, and perfection—recognizing that God is good and righteous in all his ways and in all that he does. The fear of the Lord expresses our awareness of God’s presence in our life. It affects every area of our life, our communion with him, our behavior, and our relationships. There are things we are less likely to do because we fear the Lord, not because we are afraid of what God might do, but because we love, respect, and honor him. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10).

We understand that God is infinite and we are finite. God is the Creator, and we are part of his creation. God is great and mighty in power, and his understanding is unlimited (Psalm 147:5). His thoughts and ways are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). God is gracious and merciful to us, and he is worthy of all respect and honor.