He who fears God has nothing more to fear

SUMMARY: Because God is always with us, we should be content with what we have and not seek validation from others. We should fear God more than any earthly persecution, as modern-day threats cannot compare to the persecution faced by early Christians. We may face mockery and scorn from the world, but with God's help, we can be courageous and not be afraid.

Because the Lord will never leave us or forsake us, we need to be very happy with the things we have. Since the Lord is ours, we cannot be left without any friends, without any treasure, and without any abode. This security should make us feel that we are very independent from men. With such protection, we are not tempted to intimidate ourselves in front of our peers, nor to ask them for permission to consider our lives as our own lives ; on the contrary, what we say, we say it courageously, and we challenge the contradiction.

He who fears God has nothing else to fear. We are to live in such fear of the living God that all threats that might be used by the loftiest persecutor should have no more effect on us than the whistling of the wind. Man these days cannot do as much against us as what he could do when the apostle wrote the verse that leads this reflection. The rack and the bonfire are out of fashion. The Giant called the Pope cannot burn the pilgrims now. If the followers of false teachers try cruel mockery and derision, we are not surprised by it, for the men of this world cannot love the heavenly seed. What happens then? We must bear the scorn of the world. Mockery does not break a bone. With God's help, let us be courageous, and when the world rages, let it do so, but we must not be afraid of it.

Source: The Bank of Faith Checkbook. Translation by Allan Roman.

http://www.spurgeon.com.mx/chequera/meditames/mayo.pdf