Fear of God

Lamentations 1:18

¹⁸ "The LORD is in the right,
for I have rebelled against his word;
but hear, all you peoples,
and see my suffering;
my young women and my young men
have gone into captivity.

Yesterday when I got back in town and Sam got here we went to a coffee shop to do homework. Part of Sam's assignment was to read Lamentations so I did the same because I didn't have anything else to do. Even though it's only five chapters it is a powerful book. There is so much to digest in each chapter so I decided to go through it one chapter at a time this week. Today after reading and thinking and reflecting on the first chapter more I realize that most of us take God's grace and forgiveness for granted. We do not have a reverent fear of God that is so prevalent throughout the Bible.

Lamentations 1:9

⁹Her uncleanness was in her skirts;
she took no thought of her future;
therefore her fall is terrible;
she has no comforter.
"O LORD, behold my affliction,
for the enemy has triumphed!"

Although this book is specifically about Jerusalem under the captivity of Babylon the same situations still exist. The first verse describes how Jerusalem who was once a princess has now become a slave. It immediately reminded me of what I just read in Galatians chapter five. We have been set free by Christ, but we still turn back to the yoke of the world. And later in Lamentations 1:14 it describes the yoke of transgressions that causes our strength to fail. Contrasted with the freedom and easy yoke of Christ we still turn to the ways of the world, because we do not have a fear of God. Jerusalem is suffering because they didn't think about the future that had been prophesied to them. Are we concerned with the future with the end or are we living in the world?

The imagery and rhetoric throughout the majority of this book is not uplifting, but it recognizes God as in the right and sovereign. Later on in chapter three there is a section reflecting on the hope and love of the Lord, but much of the book is dedicated to repentance. After reading just the first chapter it is clear that we do not even repent with the right mindset. For the most part we just count on God's grace being there. But even though His grace exists sin is still punished and the Lord is in the right for doing this.

My prayer is that we as a church will read these Scriptures and that Lord will instill within us a healthy fear of the Lord. This isn't meant to be depressing or to scare you, but to help us realize that our lives do not match up with this aspect of Scripture. I really think once we begin to develop a more holy fear of the Lord we will see a huge shift in our lives and the way interact with others. We need to remember that life is short and being focused on God and eternity is all that matters.

"If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this."

~C.S. Lewis