Scripture reading: Psalm 27

What Do You Fear?

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10)

J. R. R. Tolkien’s classic The Lord of the Rings contains a moving scene where Lady Eowyn of Rohan and Lord Aragorn are deep in conversation. Soldiers are preparing for a great battle, and Aragorn assumes that Lady Eowyn will want to be far from the conflict. After all, a battle field is no place for lady. Eowyn is deeply offended by Aragorn’s attitude and informs him in no uncertain terms of her courage and readiness to fight. She boldly asserts,

“I am of the House of Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death.”

“What do you fear, lady?” he asked.

“A cage,” she said. “To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.” (The Return of the King)

Lady Eowyn’s greatest fear was not the pain or even death of battle, but rather of being useless in the great battle about to be fought. She was terrified at the thought of coming to the end of her days and discovering that her life had been a meaningless tale of trivial pursuits. Lady Eowyn was not afraid of dying young in some great cause; no, she was afraid of dying in impotence and old age.

Let me ask you: What do you fear? Naming our fears is one of the essential paths we must take to spiritual maturity. Could it be that fear of pain, death, financial loss, failure, broken relationships, or unemployment are focusing your energies on preservation and self-protection rather than laying down your life in some great cause? Could it be that you actually prefer the imagined security of some self-imposed “cage” rather than facing the risks and dangers of some battle God wants you to fight?

Christ did not come to release us from our fears as much as to help us put our fears in the right place! Listen to his words: I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! (Luke 12:4–5)

It’s time to cease our pursuit of a life freed from all fear and rather begin to pursue a life where our fears were rightly placed. The fear of the Lord is still the beginning of wisdom! Few understood this truth better than Oswald Chambers:

The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else. (My Utmost for His Highest)

Courage is almost a contradiction in
terms. It means a strong desire to live,
taking the form of a readiness to die.
—G. K. Chesterton

point to ponder • What is your greatest fear?

prayer focus • Confess that fear to God and ask him for the wisdom and strength needed to begin to walk in the fear of the Lord.