Fear of God means?

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What does Fear of God mean?
Because I feel like I’m more into Phobia of God not Fear of God
I’m constantly feels like afraid of God.

How do I live life according to Fear of God?
 
Fear of failing,fear of wasting,fear of dissappointing,fear of your conscious…fear of the state of your soul’s peace now and after that Spscial day…
 
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It means that you love God, and so desire to please God, desiring also not to displease Him, that you fear doing something that would be offensive to Him. A poor analogy is fearing to offend anyone you love. Out of that fear/concern, you improve your behavior, establishing love (charity) your rule so as to do only that which is pleasing.

A phobia may be a potential indicator of scrupulosity/OCD or some other thought disorder or psychological condition. Or simply a misunderstanding of God’s nature - which is love itself.
 
It is not ‘fear’ in the way you are interpreting it.

I would guess, that you are referring to dread and terror. Things that paralyse you with a literal fear for your life. Such as facing down a speeding train or having a panic attack.

Try and see God ‘fearing’ as a state of respect for his eternal power or magisty over all creation.

You can ‘fear’ someone’s authority over you in real life in similar ways. Showing a concern for the results of their judgement and power. Doesn’t mean you are frightened of them to the point of running for your life 24/7.

God has no need to inflict fear into people in the manner you might view an evil tyrant or dictator. That would contradict far too many elements of his loving nature.

In an abstract example; people can fear love and kindness because of how it makes them feel. Doesn’t mean there is a literal ‘evil harm’ associated to it.

So fear God from an angle of respect and adoration for his ability and lordship. Not because you are quaking in your boots in horror.

Don’t get me wrong. Certainly God is capable to inflicting terror upon his enemies. But you aren’t one of those.

No need to be afraid.
 
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yosi11 said:
How do I live life according to Fear of God?
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Ask Him what He wants. Maybe the fear you feel is because He pulled you close to Him very fast before you were ready. Maybe He wants something specific from you to do.
Or maybe He is just protecting you from something else, like “fear Me, don’t fear [this or that]”.
I would take it as a mystical sign, like at least you will probably never wonder if He exists.
And just live … I think. Do your every day life and see Him close. Doesn’t the fear get bearable after you pray?
I am sure everyone will just get scared when they meet Him no matter how we prepare ourselves to be otherwise. Even the atheists will get scared. The Pope, the bishops, just about everyone. But it will be wonderful for those who miss Him.
Falling in love is scary too btw.
 
I have been working on a paper on the Fear of the Lord and so far the best answer I have been given is “reverence and obedience” to God.
 
Here’s a short passage on the difference between “servile fear” and “holy fear” from St. Catherine of Siena’s Dialogue:
Then the goodness of God, wishing to satisfy the desire of that soul, said, "Do you see those? They have arisen with servile fear from the vomit of mortal sin, but, if they do not arise with love of virtue, servile fear alone is not sufficient to give eternal life. But love with holy fear is sufficient, because the law is founded in love and holy fear. The old law was the law of fear, that was given by Me to Moses, by which law they who committed sin suffered the penalty of it. The new law is the law of love, given by the Word of My only-begotten Son, and is founded in love alone. The new law does not break the old law, but rather fulfills it, as said My Truth, ‘I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.’ And He united the law of fear with that of love. Through love was taken away the imperfection of the fear of the penalty, and the perfection of holy fear remained, that is, the fear of offending, not on account of one’s own damnation, but of offending Me, who am Supreme Good. So that the imperfect law was made perfect with the law of love. Wherefore, after the car of the fire of My only-begotten Son came and brought the fire of My charity into your humanity with abundance of mercy, the penalty of the sins committed by humanity was taken away, that is, he who offended was no longer punished suddenly, as was of old given and ordained in the law of Moses.

“There is, therefore, no need for servile fear; and this does not mean that sin is not punished, but that the punishment is reserved, unless, that is to say, the person punish himself in this life with perfect contrition. For, in the other life, the soul is separated from the body, wherefore while man lives is his time for mercy, but when he is dead comes the time of justice. He ought, then, to arise from servile fear, and arrive at love and holy fear of Me, otherwise there is no remedy against his falling back again into the river, and reaching the waters of tribulation, and seeking the thorns of consolation, for all consolations are thorns that pierce the soul who loves them disordinately.”
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We cannot be afraid of anything. Even the holy fear of God is a form of love; it is nothing but the fear of losing him.
- From In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez, Volume 4 page 31
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Filial fear; as a son would fear his father in a filial manner.
 
yosi11 said:
What does Fear of God mean?
Because I feel like I’m more into Phobia of God not Fear of God
I’m constantly feels like afraid of God.

How do I live life according to Fear of God?
Click to expand...
Yes, that’s not how we should look at it. As we mature in faith and in the knowledge of God, love of Him increases, and the fear you speak of should decrease. “Love casts out fear” 1 John 1:14. And that’s the ultimate state we’ll be in when we meet Him “face to face” as 1 Cor 1:13 puts it. But in this life a certain amount of fear is healthy, and wise (“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” Prov 9:10-that means to put Him above ourselves and all else), and lots of awe is in order in any case. Anyway I like the comment of St Basil of Cesarea, a 4th century bishop:
"If we turn away from evil out of fear of punishment, we are in the position of slaves. If we pursue the enticement of wages, . . . we resemble mercenaries. Finally if we obey for the sake of the good itself and out of love for him who commands . . . we are in the position of children."
 
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You can ask for the gift of Fear of the Lord. I’ve had two singular experiences that drove the Fear of the Lord deep into my heart.

On the one hand it’s like watching a storm at sea- you see the power and the ferocity, and you know no matter what, were you just dropped in the middle of it you could never survive. That’s a kind of primal fear, coming face to face with a thing or force that could (dispassionately) annihilate you without much effort.

It’s also like a trust fall, the fear you have of falling and not being caught, even though you have every reason to believe the people under you WILL catch you.

In some ways it’s like the fear you feel when you have a baby. It’s overwhelming and emotional and terrifying, but there’s also a new kind of freedom and hope that rides along with those feelings.

It’s like the fear I had of my father growing up. I did not live in fear of him, but I loved him and respected him and I never wanted to let him down or disappoint him, nor did I want to screw up so badly that he would punish me. But the undercurrent of those feelings was love and respect, not a fear for my physical safety.

And there’s more to it, it’s difficult to describe if you’ve never had a good direct experience of it. I think it’s often a poorly-answered question because we try to learn it from a book, but it’s an experience you have to have, and once you have it it will never leave you and you will not forget it.
 
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