“Fear not, Zacharias. Your prayers have been heard,” Gabriel
said as he announced that John the Baptist would be born.
“Fear not,” said the angel of the Lord to trembling Gideon,
soon to lead his people in warfare.
Yet the Bible also tells us fear can be very good if we fear the
right things. Fear of falling bricks or botulism is common sense.
Fear of God is even more essential.
Fear God? Isn’t he a God of love? Isn’t that the God Billy has
invited people to receive?
Yes. But the Scriptures say God is holy and hates the evil that
visits horrors on his people and his creation. So throughout the
Bible we read a drumbeat of commands to “Fear God.” And it’s a
remarkable paradox of fear and joy. In the Psalms we read:
Happy are those who fear the Lord.
Praise the Lord, all you who fear him.
Serve the Lord with reverent fear and rejoice.
A strange mixture, rejoicing in fear. Yet it’s a matter of rightly
placed fear. In this case, it’s the ultimate fear that the Scriptures
say gives ultimate joy.
Billy Graham fears the right things. He reads Proverbs daily,
which tell him, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,”
and “The fear of the Lord teaches a person to be wise.” That “rev-
erent fear” is an essential ingredient of Graham’s leadership. It
results in courage.
Fearing God puts into perspective the intimidation of sparring
with Boston intellectuals or clever diplomats or hostile “crazies,”
as Graham had to do. It gives power to face situations in which
one feels overpowered or underequipped.
As theologian Karl Barth, who had faithfully ministered dur-
ing the Nazi rule and knew about the need for courage, put it:
“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.”
Summoning Courage