"As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him."
Psalm 103:13
The boy came home from Sunday School with a question for his mother. "Why does God want us to be afraid of Him?" She said, "Son, when the Bible uses that word fear, it doesn't mean to be afraid of God. It means to respect Him and honor Him. He loves you." That mother explained it well. To fear God is to hold Him in awe or the highest respect. He is our LORD and Father.
The word LORD appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament, with all four letters capitalized. That is always a translation for the covenant name of God. To be a child of God means that we have entered a covenant relationship with Him. He is LORD of our lives. His covenant promises for the lives of believers is recorded in Jeremiah 31:31-34. The assurance that we are in an everlasting covenant with God is the fear that He puts in our hearts. "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts, so they will not depart from me" (Jeremiah 32:40).
Do you fear God? Do you hold Him in awe with the highest respect, as LORD of your life? If so, He has done that in your heart, as a covenant child of your heavenly Father. You need not be afraid of Him. He wants to do you good all the days of your life and forever.
LORD our God, we exalt You now and forever.
