There are about a dozen verses in the Bible that refer to coming before God in "fear and trembling". Here are some of them:
Psalms 55:5 Fear and trembling come upon me; And horror has overwhelmed me.
Psalms 119:120 My flesh trembles for fear of Thee, And I am afraid of Thy judgments.
Jeremiah 5:22 'Do you not fear Me?' declares the LORD. 'Do you not tremble in My presence?
Daniel 6:26 "I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; For He is the living God and enduring forever, And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, And His dominion will be forever.
1 Corinthians 2:3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.
2 Corinthians 7:15 And his affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.
Ephesians 6:5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ;
Philippians 2:12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
Hebrews 12:21 And so terrible was the sight (of God's presence on Mt. Sinai), that Moses said, "I AM FULL OF FEAR AND TREMBLING."
These all seem to refer to a discomfort in God's presence. We generally categorize "fear" as a negative emotion. "Trembling" seems to amplify the fear even further. But then there's this verse:
Jeremiah 33:9 'And it shall be to Me (God) a name of joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear of all the good that I do for them, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.'
Here, "fear and trembling" are caused by the overwhelming goodness of God toward His people. It's unclear from this passage if those fearing and trembling are the people of God who receive His goodness or the onlookers who only witness the great good and peace God's people are receiving. It could be both.
God was so good to our family during 2007. He's been so good that "it's almost scary", which would be a modern way to express the sentiment in Jeremiah 33:9. Indeed all His ways are kind and loving toward His people, but sometimes He is so obvious that your knees buckle. 2007 was that way with us, punctuated with the birth of Alan.
So look forward to those circumstances that overwhelm you, leaving you helplessly full of fear and aweful wonder at how the Lord of heaven and earth could be so good to you.

That is a wonderful New
That is a wonderful New Year's post! I've seen many, you know, in the blogosphere. But I've never heard anyone say "Happy New Year" that way before. It really says it all, doesn't it? We 'tremble with joy' because of our God who is so good, He gave us His Son to die for us. But He didn't stop there, and continues to bless us so richly. 2008 will be an adventure for our family, I'm sure. And I can't wait. Love you, Daddy! ~Grace
Food for thought...
for sure. I have to agree with Grace, that's certainly not an ordinary way to say 'Happy New Year!' but it really gets you thinking and thankful. I can definitely say that my family has been caused to "fear and tremble" with the many changes that have taken place in 2007 and I think I'm looking forward to more in 2008.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :-)
-Melanie