The Fear That Draws Near

Some people think the fear of God pushes us away. But that is not the fear the Bible speaks of.

True fear is not dread. It is reverence. It is that awareness that is born when the heart realizes who it is speaking with.

It is not hiding, it is bowing. It is not running away, it is recognizing. It is not trembling in terror, it is falling silent in respect.

Fear does not paralyze us. It positions us.

It is what clears the way for intimacy. Because without reverence, intimacy becomes spiritual abuse. And without fear, freedom becomes irreverence.

The fear that draws near does not demand beautiful words. But it demands a broken heart, willing to listen, to obey, to love with respect.

“The Lord confides his secrets to those who fear him.” (Psalm 25:14)

Fear and intimacy: the two hands that touch

Many people avoid talking about the fear of God. Perhaps because for a long time it was associated with dread, guilt, condemnation. But the fear that leads to intimacy with God is not fear of punishment, it is awareness of holiness.

1. What is this fear?

The Hebrew word used is yir’ah (יִרְאָה). It is not terror. It is reverence, deep respect, admiration with an awareness of greatness.

It is that silence the soul makes when it perceives the presence of something too holy to be touched in a hurry.

It is like Moses before the bush: “Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5)

Fear reminds us that God is love, but he is also a consuming fire. And this does not frighten us. It adjusts us.

2. Fear prepares the ground for intimacy

Without fear, intimacy becomes a loose friendship. And a loose friendship with God becomes a spirituality without weight, without depth, without truth.

But when fear is present: you listen with attention, you pray with awareness, you fall silent with reverence, you live with obedience.

“The Lord confides his secrets to those who fear him, and makes them know his covenant.” (Psalm 25:14)

3. Jesus lived in fear, and he was the most intimate

“The Spirit of the fear of the Lord will rest upon him.” (Isaiah 11:2)

Christ himself, in his humanity, lived full of the fear of the Lord. And this did not push him away from the Father, it drew him near.

He said: “I only do what I see the Father doing.” (John 5:19) and also: “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)

This is the perfect balance: fear that produces obedience, and love that sustains communion.

4. Fear is not the absence of love, it is conscious love

“Love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18) But fear of the Lord is not dread.

Dread pushes us away. Fear draws us near.

It is fear that keeps us from playing with grace. That keeps us from using God’s name for our own projects.

It is fear that leads us to love with reverence, to serve with humility, to seek with depth.

5. Intimacy with God is not something light, it is something holy

God does not reveal himself to the hurried. Nor to the irreverent. Nor to the arrogant.

He reveals his heart to those who have fear. Because only those who revere, keep. Only those who respect, listen. Only those who fear, obey.