You gotta know that Saul getting saved sure took a lot of pressure off of a lot of people. He had become pretty ramped up and obsessed with those who claimed to be disciples of a risen Jesus . . . breathing threats and murder against those who belonged to “the Way” (Acts 9:1-2). So, you just gotta think that when he met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus and became a believer, it provided a lot of relief to those he had led the charge against.

And that’s what Luke records towards the end of Acts 9, “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up” (9:31a). Dickens might have put it this way, “It was the best of times.” King David, this way, “The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed I have a pleasant inheritance” (Ps. 16:6). Bottom line . . . things were good . . . it was a pleasant season for the church at large . . . no persecution . . . no arrests . . . no running from crazy man Saul. Instead, peace . . . some normalcy . . . an opportunity to catch your breath . . . energy spent on growing rather than on running. It wouldn’t be that way always . . . but it was that way now . . . and they would enjoy it.

But check this out . . . during this time of peace and edification and multiplication . . . this is how the Holy Spirit describes how they did life, “In the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit” (9:31b).

Fear and comfort . . . the combo caught my attention . . . not two words that I would necessarily put together . . . not two “states of being” that I would consider compatible. But that’s how the church “walked” during this time of peace . . . that’s how believers did life . . . in fear . . . and in comfort.

Fear of the Lord . . . not the same type of fear they had of Saul and his murderous ways . . . but an abiding deep sense of awe concerning the holiness of their God, the wonder of their salvation, and the calling of their Savior. Every day being a day to walk in a manner worthy of being a child of God . . . a day to seek first the kingdom of God . . . a day to order one’s life as befitting a disciple and servant of Christ. Characterized by an ever-present reverence for the Lord, they continued to continue in the apostles doctrine (2:42) . . . they pursued the things of holiness and righteousness . . . they set their hearts on things above . . . more and more mindful that they weren’t living to please men here and now but were preparing to stand before the King, desiring to hear “Well done good and faithful servant”, there and then. Times were good . . . but the fear, the reverential awe of the Lord abided.

And long with it, the comfort of the Holy Spirit. As these saints sought to draw near to God, He, through His blessed Holy Spirit, drew alongside them. They pursued the holy and the Holy One pursued them. They lived for the things of God, and the living God lived through them. They practiced their “spiritual disciplines” and Spirit “practiced” an abiding presence within them. The more they lived in the fear of the Lord, the greater the comfort . . . the support . . . the encouragement . . . the pervasive presence . . . of the Holy Spirit. As they sought to follow Christ . . . as they yielded to “thy will be done” continually . . . the Spirit “stepped in front of the parade” and led and directed and strengthened.

Fear and comfort . . . I guess they do go together.

Oh that I might not snooze during peaceful times . . . that I might not grow complacent during those seasons when “the lines have fallen for me in pleasant places”. But that I might pursue the prize and drink of living water . . . that I might run the race and know the refreshing . . . that I might live in fear . . . and in comfort . . . for my benefit . . . for His glory . . . amen.