Isn't fearing God diametrically opposed...?

Question

to trusting God? So which is it? Do you fear, or trust?

Answer 1

You trust the Lord your God with your whole mind, whole soul, and with your whole heart. You fear God, for fear of disappointing him. If you love God, you want to please him. So your answer is both

Answer 2

Do you even know what fearing the Lord means?


For the Christian fear means a healthy respect. It means
holding Him in the highest possible regard. God is the creator of all things (Genesis 1:1).Heaven is His throne, earth is His footstool (Matthew 5:34-35) and He is to be reverenced, served and worshipped.

In contrast, in Revelation 6:15-17 shows God’s enemies fearing Him. This fear is not a healthy respect but absolute terror. The Christian need not ever experience this sort of fear towards God because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1).

We are to Fear Him, ( having the utmost respect) and we are to also trust Him for everything.

Answer 3

Believers are not to be “scared” of God. We have no reason to be scared of Him. We have His promise that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39). We have His promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Fearing God means having such a reverence for Him, that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives. The fear of God is respecting Him, submitting to His discipline, and worshipping Him in awe.

Answer 4

This is where it is very important to know what the "fear of God" really means. From the Scriptures, we learn that to "fear God" for the righteous, means to have profound reverence and deep respect for God. It means that we have a strong desire out of our love for God, not to displease him. If our love for God is complete, then "fearing God" would mean that we place our utmost trust in him.

#1 meaning of "fearing God"

Indeed, the fear of God encompasses a wide range of human experience. It is associated not only with wisdom but also with joy, peace, prosperity, longevity, hope, trust, and confidence. It is closely related to faith and love. In fact, it involves our entire relationship with God and with fellow humans.Fear of God includes the deep conviction that our heavenly Father personally cares for us and is ready to forgive our transgressions.

Psalm 2:11: "Serve Jehovah with fear
And be joyful with trembling."

Proverbs 1:7: "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge. Wisdom and discipline are what mere fools have despised."

Proverbs 10:26 & 27: In the fear of Jehovah there is strong confidence, and for his sons there will come to be a refuge.
 The fear of Jehovah is a well of life, to turn away from the snares of death."The very fear of Jehovah will add days, but the years themselves of the wicked ones will be cut short."

Acts 9:31: "Then, indeed, the congregation throughout the whole of Ju·de′a and Gal′i·lee and Sa·mar′i·a entered into a period of peace, being built up; and as it walked in the fear of Jehovah and in the comfort of the holy spirit it kept on multiplying."

Hebrews 11:7: "By faith Noah, after being given divine warning of things not yet beheld, showed godly fear and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; and through this [faith] he condemned the world, and he became an heir of the righteousness that is according to faith.

Psalm 130:4: "For there is the [true] forgiveness with you,
In order that you may be feared"

#2 meaning of "fearing God"

Only the unrepentant wicked have reason to be terrified of God.—

Hebrews 10:26-31: "For if we practice sin willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, 27 but [there is] a certain fearful expectation of judgment and [there is] a fiery jealousy that is going to consume those in opposition. 28 Any man that has disregarded the law of Moses dies without compassion, upon the testimony of two or three. 29 Of how much more severe a punishment, do YOU think, will the man be counted worthy who has trampled upon the Son of God and who has esteemed as of ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has outraged the spirit of undeserved kindness with contempt? 30 For we know him that said: “Vengeance is mine; I will recompense”; and again: “Jehovah will judge his people.” 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of [the] living God."


I hope these Scriptures helped shed some light on the true meanings of "fearing God".

Answer 5

Fear and love. Do you trust your parents? Do you also fear their punishment? Almost the same thing.

We love God because of His Mercy. We fear Him because of His Wrath. God is the only one who may truly reward you(Mercy) or punish you(Wrath).

God deserves both. Trust is inherent in the love. Obedience is inherent in the fear.

Answer 6

>>Isn't fearing God diametrically opposed to trusting God?<<

How would having a reverential awe of God be diametrically opposed to trusting God?

Fear: to have a reverential awe of
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/fear

Answer 7

I trust Him. He knows that we have a tendency to fear things, so He says over 500 times in the Bible " Fear not" or " Do not be afraid". : )

Answer 8

No. You trust your earthly father and fear his anger as well no? That is pretty normal. To deny it or try to make some issue out of this is what is truly weird.

Answer 9

the fear of God means knowing God. That is all. so no it's not opposed.
go back to hebrew word meanings, some words mean more than three things.
Like virgin in hebrew means an unmarried woman.

Answer 10

I think even the faithful are very afraid of unpleasantries, sickness, poverty, pain, loss of a loved one.

So we all know we should trust in the Lord, but letting go of the reigns is not always as easy as you'd think.