A man who has undertaken the path of inner watchfulness must first of all possess the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.
These prophetic words there must always be impressed in his mind: Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling (Ps. 2:11).
He must walk this path with the utmost caution and reverence toward all that is sacred, and not carelessly. Otherwise, there is reason to fear that the divine decree will apply to him: Cursed is the man that does the works of the Lord carelessly (Jer. 48:10).
Such reverent caution is necessary because this sea—that is, the heart with its thoughts and desires, which must be purified through watchfulness—is great and vast, and there are creeping things innumerable (Ps. 104:25), that is, many vain, unrighteous, and impure thoughts, the offspring of evil spirits.
Fear God, and keep his commandments (Eccl. 12:13), says the Wise One [King Solomon]. By keeping the commandments, you will be strong in every undertaking, and your work will always be good. For if you fear God, you will do everything well out of love for Him.
But do not fear the devil; he who fears God will overcome the devil, for the devil is powerless before him.
There are two kinds of fear: If you do not wish to do evil, fear the Lord and do it not; and if you wish to do good, fear the Lord and do it.
Yet no one can acquire the fear of God until he frees himself from all worldly cares. When the mind becomes free from anxiety, then the fear of God moves it and draws it toward love for the goodness of God.
On the Fear of God
Fear is the beginning of love, and afterwards everything passes into love. The fear of God is not properly fear of God Himself, but fear of falling away from God and falling into sins and passions.
—St. Clement of Alexandria
Just as it is impossible to cross a great sea without a ship or a boat, so no one can attain love without fear. The foul sea between us and the noetic paradise can be crossed only in the boat of repentance, whose rowers are fear. But if these rowers of fear do not steer the ship of repentance, on which we cross the sea of this world toward God, we drown in that foul sea. Repentance is our ship, fear is its helmsman, and love is the divine harbor. Thus fear brings us onto the ship of repentance, carries us across the foul sea of life, and guides us to the divine harbor, which is love. And when we reach love, then we have reached God, and our path is completed, and we have come to the island of that world where are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
—St. Isaac the Syrian
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation (Luke 1:50).
The fear of the Lord is the fountain of life. The fear of the Lord is the fortress of the soul. The fear of the Lord brings order to spiritual thought… No one among men is as exalted as he who fears the Lord. He who fears the Lord is like a light that shows many the path of salvation. He who fears the Lord is like a fortified city standing upon a mountain; and before him the evil demons tremble.
There is no evil that the fear of God cannot destroy. Just as fire, when it receives iron, even iron that is very corrupted and covered with heavy rust, makes it bright and shining, cleansing it and completely restoring what was damaged, so also the fear of God in a short time accomplishes everything and does not allow anything human to harm those who are filled with it.
If you have truly loved the Lord and strive to obtain the Kingdom to come, and have vowed to labor because of your falls into sin, then remember the judgment and eternal torment, awaiting your departure from this world with fear.
There are two kinds of fear: one initial, and the other perfect… For example, he who fulfills the will of God out of fear of punishment is still a beginner, for he does not yet do good for the sake of goodness itself, but out of fear of punishment. But he who fulfills the will of God out of love for Him, loving Him simply in order to please Him—this one knows what true good is; he has understood what it means to be with God. Such a person fears God and fulfills His will no longer out of fear of punishment, nor to avoid torment, but because, having tasted the very sweetness of abiding with God, he fears falling away and fears losing it. And this perfect fear, born of love, casts out the initial fear. Therefore the Apostle says: Perfect love casteth out fear (1 John 4:18). Yet it is impossible to reach perfect fear except through the initial fear.
The fear of God is the chief thing. When it comes, like a good master it arranges everything in the soul according to its order. Do you have it? If you do, thank God and preserve it; if not, awaken it—for it is contained in our spirit, and if it does not manifest itself, it is because of our inattention. From the fear of God the first child is born—a contrite spirit, a broken and humble heart. Let the feeling of contrition never depart from your heart! To preserve the fear of God, one must keep an unceasing remembrance of death and judgment. As soon as you awaken, call this remembrance to mind, and throughout the day remain in companionship with it as your first counselor. Join to this the awareness of the presence of the Lord near you and within you, so that He sees everything, even the most hidden things. This awareness, together with the remembrance of death, always has the fear of God inseparably with it. When this triad settles in your heart, then prayer will begin to flow from the heart, with unceasing cries to the Lord and Savior. That is everything. If this exists in you even to some degree, then the work of your salvation is underway; but if it does not, everything else is nothing.
From: Readings For Every Day of Great Lent, Ed. N. Shaposhnikova (Moscow: Danilov Monastery, 2025).
