By Darlene Stern

Often when we think of men encountering the Lord or angels in scripture, we automatically remember that they all fell on their faces trembling before the being from heaven. Then the visitor would have to assure the person that no harm would come to them. The words the angel or the Lord always used were, "Fear not!"

We are not to fear an encounter with the Lord or angels. Some scriptural examples we can look at to support this are Abraham and Moses. Two angels and the Lord visited Abraham one afternoon (see Genesis 18). Abraham knew who they were. He demonstrated respect for his guests, but he was not afraid. Instead, he ordered a calf prepared and bread baked to serve his guests. It probably took three or four hours to prepare the meal to honor his company.

Do you suppose during those several hours Abraham left his guests alone to wile away the time? Rather than groveling on the ground in fear, he was a good host, conversing about the weather and the flocks and the crops.  After dinner, the visitors got down to business and delivered the promise they had come to give. That same afternoon, the Lord told Abraham what was going to take place in Sodom. Abraham was bold enough to bargain with Him about not destroying the city for the sake of an ever-declining righteous few inhabitants. He did not fear God, but in faith esteemed Him as the final authority.

Moses met with God frequently. He was respectful and honored God, but he did not fear Him. The rest of the nation of Israel in the wilderness, on the other hand, were deathly afraid of God. Their fear came because they had sin in their lives and they knew God punished sin and rebellion. When it came time to approach God, Israel sent Moses as their mediator. God wanted to have a relationship with Israel, but they would rather hold onto their sin and rebellion than confess it and be set free of it to enjoy the presence of the Lord.

When God comes to us, we don't have to be afraid unless there is some sin in our lives the Lord has revealed and asked us to turn away from. Generally, He comes with a message. The message could be similar to the one Mary, the mother of Jesus, received: God had a job for her to do. Gideon, the least of the smallest tribe of Israel, received a comparable message in Judges 6: go and deliver Israel, I have sent you. Jacob dreamed of a portal open over him in heaven (see Genesis 28). From that portal he saw angels ascending and descending a ladder resting on earth. He also saw God in his dream and heard what God had to say to him. What he heard was a promise from God that Jacob had a good future and his descendants would be blessed. He didn't think this was a pizza dream or his overactive imagination; Jacob knew without a doubt he had encountered God. He was so sure of this that he built an altar to remember the experience by and as a witness to all future generations that God had come to this place to visit their ancestor Jacob.

John, the author of the book of Revelation, was directed by God to come up to the throne where God was seated (chapter 4:1). John related to the church what he saw from heaven's perspective regarding the last days before Jesus' return to earth. He didn't fall on his face in fear and trembling. He did what he was asked to do - come, look, report.

Since the days when the Bible was written, God has not changed. He is the same today as in those times and will continue to be the same in the future. He still comes to those who seek Him and desire to serve His purposes on earth. What we read in the Bible is a model, or example, for how God can come to us in our lives. Many Christian writers over the centuries have related encounters with the living resurrected Christ  - Saul of Tarsus was the first, but he wasn't the last.

God doesn't always come in visible form. Sometimes He comes as a gentle whisper as He did in Elijah's case. God can come to us as an overwhelming sense of peace in the midst of the worst chaos in our lives, boldness when we are in the midst of a fearful situation, or joy without a reason.

If we are right with God, we have no reason to fear Him when He comes to us. When He does meet us, it is to bless us, promise a future we can't imagine, or send us on a mission that will testify about Him. Fear not!

Darlene Stern is housewife who first came to know the Lord in her late 30's. From the time He began to touch her life, Darlene has pursued Him with passion and an unquenchable thirst to know Him more and more. He has not disappointed her! Contact Darlene.