In Awe of God 敬畏上帝

[Dexu Xia]

Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you.Exodus 20:20

A phobia is defined as the “irrational fear” of certain things or situations. Arachnophobia is a fear of spiders (though some might argue that’s a perfectly rational thing to be afraid of!). Then there’s globophobia and xocolatophobia. These and some four hundred other phobias are real and documented. It seems we can become afraid of most anything.

The Bible tells of the Israelites’ fear after receiving the Ten Commandments: “When the people saw the thunder and lightning . . . they trembled with fear” (Exodus 20:18). Moses comforted them, offering this most interesting statement: “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you” (v. 20). Moses seems to contradict himself: “Don’t be afraid but be afraid.” In fact, the Hebrew word for “fear” contains at least two meanings—a trembling terror of something or a reverent awe of God.

We may laugh to learn that globophobia is the fear of balloons and xocolatophobia is a fear of chocolate. The more serious bottom line about phobias is that we can be afraid of all kinds of things. Fears creep into our lives like spiders, and the world can be a scary place. As we struggle with phobias and fears, we do well to be reminded that our God is an awesome God, offering us His present comfort in the midst of darkness.

By:  Kenneth Petersen

What in your life are you afraid of? How does God’s love help you overcome those fears?

Dear God, I find myself afraid of so many things. Please comfort my heart, and help me to rest in Your love.

不要惧怕，因为上帝降临是要试验你们，叫你们时常敬畏祂。—出埃及记20章20节

恐惧症的定义是对某些事物或情境产生“非理性的恐惧”，就像蜘蛛恐惧症是对蜘蛛产生恐惧（或许有人会争论，这是一个完全合理的恐惧！）。此外，还有气球恐惧症和巧克力恐惧症。这些恐惧症和其他大约四百种恐惧症，都是真实存在且有据可查。如此看来，我们对任何事物都可能感到害怕恐惧。

出埃及记讲述以色列民带着恐惧领受十诫，“众百姓见雷轰、闪电、⋯⋯就都发颤”（20章18节）。摩西安慰他们说：“不要惧怕，因为上帝降临是要试验你们，叫你们时常敬畏祂”（20节）。这句话似乎有些自相矛盾，摩西说“不要惧怕”，又说要“敬畏”。但事实上，希伯来文中的“惧怕”一词，至少包含两个意思：对某件事物感到恐惧、颤栗，或是对上帝肃然起敬。

当我们知道有气球恐惧症和巧克力恐惧症时，可能会觉得很好笑，但其实我们要正视恐惧症，因为我们可能会对任何事物都感到害怕。恐惧会像蜘蛛一样悄悄爬进我们的生活，这世界可能就成为令人恐惧的地方。当我们饱受惊吓又深受恐惧症所苦的时候，须谨记我们的上帝是令人敬畏的上帝，即使在黑暗中，我们仍能因祂的同在而享有平安和稳妥。作者：  毕恺腾

在你的生活中什么会令你感到害怕？上帝的爱如何帮助你克服这些恐惧？

亲爱的上帝，我对很多事情都感到害怕，求祢使我的心平静安稳，帮助我全然信靠祢的爱。