Bottom of the Ninth #71 - Fear God

by Keith Wahl

(This week's Bottom of the Ninth is the first in a series walking readers through basics of the Christian faith integrated in the game of baseball through Francis Chan's BASIC video series)

“Fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9:10

Making the jump from high school baseball to college baseball was more difficult than I had anticipated. I fell into the common trap of arrogance believing that my high school accomplishments would just carry over into college. Oh how wrong I was.After a difficult freshman year, I attempted to regain lost confidence by coming out strong in the fall. The summer before that sophomore fall, I discovered this brand and put this sticker on my bat.:

We get stuck in this thinking as athletes - somehow we believe that we can’t show any fear. We have to put on this facade of pride in front of other people so we show no weakness. How do we rectify that thinking with the “Fear of the Lord” being the “beginning of wisdom?” Do we not desire wisdom on the baseball field?In his BASIC video series (the first full episode can be viewed by clicking the image above), Francis Chan explains what happens when we choose to react to God with fear and trembling just as those men in the Bible did in their response to being with God. Whoever you are, the moment you see God, you will fear Him.But here’s the beauty - when we show God that we are terrified by His presence, He reacts with love. He says, “fear not.” He says, “be not afraid.” He opens Himself up for us to find security in Him, to be His friend, to be His child.

While I was able to overcome my fear the fall of my sophomore year of college and break into the lineup for the rest of my college career, it wasn’t until I experienced the fear of God that I found the abundant life.

“Fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied.” (Proverbs 19:23)