The Fear the Lord Evokes

If a person is “in the Lord,”  or belongs to Him, their usual desire is to be rid of all fear, thinking that is a good thing to do.  And, with the fear the enemy brings, it certainly is. But also, God’s children, through Christ, are given another kind of fear as a gift. This gift is worded in the written Word as “the fear of the Lord,” which has traditionally been defined as “respecting or honoring Him.” This is good and right, but as most renderings, it has many levels of understanding, or revelations on it.
Another aspect of “the fear of the Lord” can also be “the fear that the Lord evokes.” So, it is the fear that He gives us; a holy fear meant to sustain and keep us safe in Him.
If I, as His child, is thinking about sinning willfully, this fear will come upon me, and be felt in me. It might come  by a weak feeling in my stomach or with other physical manifestations. The more we entertain whatever our flesh and the enemy is urging us to do, this fear the Lord evokes is sent to dissuade us. He knows the consequences of our sinning, even if we have forgotten in the moment, so this gift, although not pleasant to experience, He brings so that we will come to our senses and choose Life, not that which will lead to death, if we keep walking in it. By the fear He causes to rise up in us, in these moments, He uses so that we will remain abiding in Him where our peace and safety is. If we choose to stay with Him, you could say we are operating by the “fear of the Lord” or “the Lord’s fear.”
We need to see it for what it is, when those moments arise. Embracing this fear can keep us from many sorrows, if we respond to it to empower us to “submit under God” and “resist the devil” so that he will flee. There is an unholy fear, and a holy one.