I Fear

Daniel 1:10

And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.

What or who you fear determines what or who you put your faith in. Fear is real. Throughout the Scriptures, you will see God command the believer to fear not, but the Scriptures also command the believer to fear God. Therefore, fear in itself is not bad; it is who you place your fear on that determines whether fear is good or bad.

The prince of the eunuchs was fearful of Nebuchadnezzar, and rightfully so. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah all refused to eat the meat that the king had placed before them. They knew this meat had been offered to idols, and they would not defile themselves with this meat. These four young men feared God, but the prince of the eunuchs feared the king. Because these four young men feared God, it caused them to do right, even to the jeopardy of their own lives. They would rather die fearing God and find great rewards in Heaven than die fearing the king and face God as compromisers. I find there are six things people fear that determines what they do with their lives.

Some fear authorities and allow them to dictate what they ought to do in life. Throughout history, there have been many who have surrendered to wrong because they feared for their lives and what the authorities would do to them if they did not obey. Though we are to obey those in authority, we are always to obey God over man.

Others fear their family and what they will do to them or think of them if they make a decision for God. Many have gone to Hell because they feared their family. If you serve God, you will likely have to lose the favor of your family who does not care for God. Let me remind you that when you stand before God, you will not stand before Him with your family; therefore, it is better to do right than to do wrong because of a fear of family.

Others fear friends and losing them if they do right. Any friend that you lose for doing right was not a friend in the first place. If doing right makes you lose so-called friends, it is worth losing them so that you can reap the blessings of doing right.

Others fear the crowd and will only do whatever it takes to fit into the crowd. Many have compromised because they did not want to stand alone. Many would rather be liked by the crowd because there is less pressure and criticism when you run with the crowd than there is if you stand for right and with God.

Others fear failure and will never attempt anything great for God. The fear of failure has caused many to live mediocre lives because they did not want to fail. If you live in fear of failure, you will never attempt anything great for God by faith.

Few fear God, but the fear of God is what motivates you to do right and to live by faith. My friend, the fear of God is where the miraculous is experienced and the blessings of God are enjoyed. You can place your fear on other things and fail in life, or you can place your fear in God and find that it always produces God working through your life miraculously because of your faith. Let me challenge you to fear God, for a fear of God is where you will find true fulfillment in life.