As the New Year dawns, words of hope, resolution, passion and endeavour are rife.
Promises of renewed commitment, of resolves to change, redirect, establish healthy patterns of life are the subject of podcasts, magazines, supermarket shelves and blogs.
This is a time of commitment and can-dos, of planning and purpose. It is a time to be hopeful and expectant, not reticent or cautious. And certainly not fearful.
However, could this be the time to bring fear back to the fore of our conversations, our hearts and minds?
Remembering the message of Christmas
Advent, Christmas, and even Epiphany have come and gone. We’ve sung and dwelt on the nativity story. But have we heard the undertones of the gospel message or packed it away along with the tinsel and tree?
Have we heard the message of fear that God has for us as His people?
The fear that floods the nativity story, that leaves Mary gripped in submissive awe, that renders the shepherds dumb-struck, the wise men bending their stately knees, and Joseph compelled to listen, trust and obey against all rationale and logic.
The fear that God intends for His people to have. Fear that grips hearts, that compels, that encourages, convicts and is the foundation for all true and lasting commitment and change.
The fear that is not merely the essential fuel for a healthy pattern of life, but rather the fervour of life itself.
The fear of the Lord that should saturate and flood not merely the Christmas events of 2,000 years ago, or the Christmas season each year, but every day.
Not a panic-stricken fear
This fear of the Lord is the great gain of godliness, in the words of 17th century Puritan preacher Thomas Watson.
Not a fear that leaves us panic-stricken; not one of superstition; not a doubting, paralysing fear that leaves us passive or stagnant, but rather, Watson says, ‘a divine fear, a reverencing and adoring of God’s holiness’. We are to fear God as a child lovingly, adoringly, and faithfully fears His Father, and fears His displeasure. This fear is hopeful and inspires action, fuels and motivates our serving of God and others out of loving awe and reverence.
As we seek by grace to receive and grow in this Godly fear, so too we will rightfully have fear of other matters in life. We learn and increase in our fear of six main things, Watson says[1]:
- Satan’s snares
- Our own hearts
- Death
- Judgement
- Hell
- Heaven
Being mindful of and alert to Satan’s attempts to trap us and trip us up in our fearful walking before the Lord might well need to be the New Year resolve of our hearts.
Forgive the borrowing of CS Lewis’ analogy in his book Screwtape Letters, but imagine for a moment Satan plotting how to destabilise Christians in your congregation, to entrap you and your family, to trip you up in your fear of the Lord.
So Satan’s advisors scheme and chat among themselves about their master’s scheme.
Soon one pipes up, ‘I’ve got it… Let’s make them think God isn’t real.’
‘No, that won’t cut it’, Satan says. ‘These folk know their Bibles. They know God is real. They feel He’s been their rock, refuge, blah blah blah over the years. That just won’t work.’
After more discussion, another advisor gasps: ‘I know. We’ll make them think God doesn’t care about them. That’ll do it. Sure He’s there, but let’s make them think He doesn’t matter to Him. They’re just His little puppets for His schemes and His own glory.’
‘Hmmm. Better but no, not good enough.’ Satan replies, ‘That won’t work either. These are practicing god-fearing folk. They know their theology. They read their Bibles and they pray. They’re going to get together, pray and hold on fast when life gets tough.’
After much disgruntlement and further plotting, there’s silence. Nothing. Out of ideas. Satan’s performed all his tricks before. But wait a minute, ‘I’ve got it. Let’s just encourage them. Let’s just speak words of comfort of joy, of ease to them. Imagine. We whisper "you’ve done enough", "you’ve worked so hard, this year take a rest, take it easy. You’ve got loads going on already. God’s grace is enough. He doesn’t need you for anything. Don’t worry. Sit back, relax, take it easy. God and His work don’t need to be your primary goal this year. You’ve got loads going on already - the diary is full. God doesn’t need you to make a ‘commitment’ or ‘work’ out of Him, or ‘schedule’ Him in. You’ve got enough on your plate."'
Be on guard
Satan’s devices are as insipid as they are explosive, as sly as they are salacious. He will just as readily launch a Christian into proud or grumbling duty as he will persuade and entice them away from it. He doesn’t care how he traps and trips us up. He’s prowling and surrounding, ready to snare us according to our deceitful and wondering hearts.
New Year, as anytime, is a time to fear, to place our fear rightfully in the hands of the only One who is trustworthy to hold it, grow it and frame it purely and perfectly. In the hands of the only One able to teach and sustain divine, filial fear in our hearts before Him, and alert, battle-like fear of our own hearts and their susceptibility before the snares of Satan.
But as we seek to begin this year placing our fears in the Lord’s hands, we do so with the trembling of wonder, worship and awe, lovingly praising and faithfully proclaiming the certain hope that Christ has defeated Satan. Resolutely persevering in our battle, knowing that we are surrounded, protected and safe in Christ as we are alert to the schemes of Satan and as we praise the moments we glimpse the grace of God in Christ buffeting and shielding his arrows of attack.
As we seek to set our resolutions for the year or establish our proposals and plans, let us do so with hearts of hope, faith, boldness that are fuelled by fear of the Lord.
[1] Thomas Watson, ‘The Great Gain of Godliness’, Puritan Paperbacks (The Banner of Truth Trust, reprint 2022), p13;15;36 respectively
