My 19 month old slipped while standing in a blow up pool today. And, for a split moment he was immersed in less than a foot of water. I jumped over to help him just as he flipped himself over and pushed on the floor of the pool to get his head above water. He was frightened, and he cried for a while. I held him close while he sobbed, "mommy, mommy." It took a little while for him to regain his independence. Even after he was ready to go back into the pool he asked for help and used an extra amount of caution. I know he didn't want it to happen again. I didn't want it to happen again. But, he didn't let fear keep him from having a good time. Instead, he allowed fear to teach him how to make better choices.
Fear is a curious thing. It can hinder me from achieving greatness, but it can also caution me against destruction. Not all fear is created equal. So, I guess I could say that there's a healthy fear and an unhealthy fear.
Both types of fear are mentioned in the Word of God. King Solomon addresses healthy fear in Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." King Solomon doesn't mean to be scared silly of God. He's not advising people to avoid God or not to pursue a relationship with Him. No, what he's advising the reader to do is to have a reverence and a respect towards God. One that encourages good choices and obedience. This is a reverence that spurs on the growth of the fruits of the Spirit. It's a fear that knows what true love is.
This is the only kind of fear—reverence and respect— that I want to permit myself to have. The other kind of fear, the unhealthy kind of fear, is the kind of fear I don't want to allow into my thoughts or in my actions. Today, I watched my 19-month old have to make the conscious decision to be afraid of the water, or overcome the obstacle at hand with wisdom. I'm very thankful to say he overcame.
God doens't want me to live in fear. He wants me to overcome the obstacles that outline my life. And, when I'm faced with a situation that could potentially be harmful to me or to others, He wants me to operate with healthy fear and use wisdom. But, that doesn't mean He wants me to avoid those dangers.
This is where things get tricky. It's almost like God asks me to live a dangerous life and live on the edge. I mean, Isaiah 43:1-2 says, "But now, this is what the Lord says—He who created you...He who formed you...“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." Does this mean that God literally wants me to go out into the deep and walk through the blazing fire. Common now, I thought the fear the sparks wisdom should be telling me to avoid those things. But, it doesn't. It tells us to use wisdom while navigating the dangerous.
It's almost like cooking food in an oven. The heat is dangerous, but necessary. I'm not going to reach my hand straight into the fire to grab what's cooking. Unhealthy fear would tell me to abandon the meal and not even attempt to get it out of the oven. Unhealthy fear would tell me it's better to starve than to risk burning my hand retrieving the food. Thankfully, I have some wisdom and I know better. I can slip on an oven mitt and take the food out of the oven without any fear of being burned.
The same analogy can be applied to my life and the choices I make. Unhealthy fear would tell me to never leave my house because I'm safer at home. Healthy fear would encourage me to take risks with wisdom at my side. Healthy fear takes me out of my comfort zone and into a place of trusting and relying on God fully. This is where fear melts into trust and trust becomes confidence. And, "In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence" (Proverbs 14:26)
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