Motivated by Fear

Oct. 15

Read: Ezra 3:1-7

Motivated by Fear

“They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening.” (v.3)

Whether we like to admit it or not, fear is a great motivator towards worship. How often one finds a child of God on their knees in prayer in the midst of a trial or a desperate moment! We would never choose for ourselves these “scary moments”, yet they drive us that much closer to the Lord.

One of the very first tasks in rebuilding the temple was the reconstruction of the altar to make sacrifices to the Lord. The entire process of “rebuilding” needed to be steeped in worship and sacrifice, so the altar had to come first. When we realize that WE are now the “temple of God”… his “dwelling place”…then we can understand how the same is true for us. Our development and growth… our “rebuilding”… must also be steeped in sacrifice and worship. The hard truth is that fear and adversity is probably the best tool to drive us to this place, and make us”fit” for rebuilding.

The people of God were facing pressure from the “people of the land”. (v.3) They were scared about what surrounded them. They knew that their surroundings were not sympathetic to their cause… and neither are ours today! In the midst of their “fear” and anxiety they turned to the Lord in worship. This process was perpetual. Perpetual sacrifice. Perpetual worship. This went on “morning and evening”. Their days started and ended with worship and sacrifice.

There is another type of fear we see in the scriptures… a fear rooted in reverence, awe, and acknowledgment of who God is: “the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.” (Psalm 19:9) or “The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him…” (Psalm 25:14) We see that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge…” (Prov. 1:7) and that “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.” (Prov. 8:13) We even see the link to worship with this type of fearl: “You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!” (Psalm 22:23)

So my question for you is - What are you afraid of? What (or who) do you fear? How will you respond to fear in our life? Fear is a valuable tool given to you by the Lord to spur you on in worship and lead you into wisdom. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the willingness and ability to move forward in the face of it. Fear should fuel us… drive us to the Lord. We need to admit to ourselves and one another what we are afraid of… and then realize that the antidote to that fear is praise, worship, and sacrifice. This is why on so many occasions the scriptures have called us to be “strong and courageous”, this is the out working of worship and sacrifice in our lives in the face of fear and adversity! (cf.Deut 31:6, Joshua 1:6) Love you guys. - JDP