His Hand in Everything.

When I was a little girl, I was afraid of the dark. I couldn’t sleep without my door open, light from the hallway seeping through to my dim bedroom, a constant reminder that I was not alone. I believe we all have a similar vision of fear. We battle it most of our lives. One minute we are scared of the dark or riding a bike without training wheels, the next we're fearing the looming future before us and the insurmountable pile of bills that consume our kitchen counter. It’s unpleasant. It’s vulnerable. It’s sometimes dangerous. Throughout our life, fear threatens us. The Bible references the word "fear" over 300 times. In its various contexts, the Bible tells us to "fear not,” and it tells us to "fear the Lord." If this is fear, I have asked myself, then how am I, a daughter of the one True King, to fear the Lord? How I am I to fear God while believing He expels all fear?For most of my life I have believed that "to fear the Lord" meant to believe God was someone He was not. Maybe you have too. I placed an identity on God that regarded Him as threatening, even dangerous. I racked my brain for answers to these questions. Being an English guru and a self-proclaimed theologian and having a heart full of pride, I wholeheartedly vowed that my definition was right. It wasn’t until someone shared an unorthodox definition to this phrase that my attempts at understanding God were met with my wrongful assumptions and my pride came shattering down: to "fear the Lord" is to see His hand in everything. To "fear the Lord" is to see His hand in everything.It’s a simple phrase, but it is one that sits with a consuming weight on my heart. God does not call us to fear Him, He calls us to see Him. In the same way, God does not call us to fear our circumstances, He calls us to trust Him. In all seasons of life, in all places, and in all things, we are called to see His hand in everything. When we are faced with trials, it’s easy to dispel God. Yet, when we fear the Lord, we are able to see His hand in our troubles. We are able to see where He is working. Just as the light shining through to my bedroom dissipated fear, we can trust that we are not alone. We may never experience a moment on Earth without fear, but I think God reminds us that His hand is in everything. Proverbs 14:26-27 says, "In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,that one may turn away from the snares of death."There are going to be times when we don’t believe this simple truth, but sometimes all it takes is a talk with a friend, a walk in the park, or a cup of coffee to be reminded that God is present. In Him, we have strong confidence, refuge, and fullness of life. words by Shelby Nierman and photo by Hailey Pierce