Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. — 2 Kings 2:7
In the previous chapter, Elijah called down fire from heaven on two groups of fifty soldiers sent by an evil king with the intention of bullying the prophet into blessing the king. Now good men — another group of fifty — stood at a distance. They knew that this prophet and his God were not to be trifled with. I suspect they were afraid.
There is a fear of God that is based on truth. Aaron’s sons Nadab and Elihu lacked it. They marched into God’s sanctuary, burned unauthorized fire before the Lord, and fell dead (Leviticus 10). Ananias and Sapphira lacked it. They lied to the Holy Spirit and were buried the same day (Acts 5).
But there is also a fear of God that is based on lies like these: I’m too shameful for God to like me. God will never forgive me. God is just waiting to pound me. Maybe if I’m real quiet, He won’t notice me and He will go away. God is angry, therefore, He must be angry at me. I am not safe with Jesus.
These are all lies. Deeply buried inside us, these lies drive us to keep God at a distance. And how do the broken places in our souls get mending as long as we keep God at a distance?
God calls us to do the counter-intuitive. To run toward Him with all our faults and weaknesses, to trust His mercy to cleanse and clothe us because we know that outside of Jesus we have no other recourse.
God is calling us into His arms, and in that call are these words: "Do not be afraid."
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.