Fear of God

 I'm still learning from Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.  Today I learned what "fear of the Lord," really means.  The good Reb explains it by breaking the word "fear" down in Hebrew.  

In Hebrew, there are three words that mean fear.  Pakhad means terror.  We are not to be terrified of God.
Aymah means high anxiety.  We are not to be anxious or nervous about God.  Yirah means realization or consciousness.  For example, you suddenly become aware that your beloved is watching you.  That's what fear of the Lord means--staying aware that God is watching you.  Smile because you make Him smile.

Fear is the Faith of satan

My "cloistered brothers" and I were talking about fear being the opposite of faith.  They cannot exist together.  God has your back.  He has everything under control.  We can't see it and we are helpless anyway, so why worry.  Fear is weak belief in God as omnipresent and all powerful.  Praying for grace is the answer.

God understands our fear and is lenient but He wants us to trust Him.  We see in the Bible all the trials God's people have, yet He never abandons them.  In fact, the trials and troubles strengthen faith.

Fear knocked.
Faith opened the door.
There was no one there.