There are two kinds of fear.
Bad fear is based on false values and unnecessary worries.
Good fear is based on a reasonable understanding of danger, power, circumstances and consequences.
It's healthy fear when a woman chooses a well-lit street instead of the back-alley way home. It's healthy fear when a man drives more carefully on icy roads.
There's also healthy and unhealthy fear in our relationship with God.
Perfect love casts out bad fear (1 John 4:18) because we know that Jesus will never forsake us, leave us, or harm us.
But perfect love instills a healthy fear of the Lord in us - a fear that is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10; Psalm 147:11).
Sometimes people define this as reverence but it's more than that.
It's a combination of love, awe, and dependence built on an accurate knowledge of God's power.
It's knowing we are but small boats on the powerful ocean of His loving will.
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