(A three-minute read)

It’s time to live in fear.

No, not like that.

Not to cower because bombs are about to fall (although they may be).

Not to hide because of the threat of societal oppression or being mislabeled (it happens regularly).

These victimologies, and others like them, display false religion.

Reject all these: depression, recession, inflation, facism, racism, every other -ism.

They are all temporary things, and fearing the temporary is foolish.

Fearing the eternal is wise.

Do you believe in the eternal? It’s time to. It’s time to live in fear.

Not phobeō (φοβέω), which means to be alarmed. No: if you are in Christ, you need not carry this type of fear. An angel told the women at Jesus’ tomb, “Do not be afraid (phobeō). For I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.” ¹

Nor is it deilia (δειλία), which is timidity nor deilos (δειλός), which is faithlessness. The Bible says God “has not given us a spirit of fear (deilia), but of power, and love, and self-control. ²

No, it is proskuneō (προσκυνέω), which means to fawn or crouch or to prostrate oneself in homage or adoration. In Hebrew this is yârê’ (ירא), which is to morally revere.

Jeremiah speaks of this yârê’ (ירא). God asks through the prophet, “Do you not fear Me?” In other words, “Is moral reverence for Me no longer part of your vocabulary?”

God relays a second question through Jeremiah, “Will you not tremble at My presence?” The word translated “tremble” is the Hebrew khool (חו؜ל), which literally means to twist or whirl (in a circular or spiral manner). This same word is translated in descriptions of childbirth, as it also means, to writhe in pain.

Okay – that’s a lot to process. Let’s step back.

God is talking about our proper approach to him being one of reverence. And yet, there’s an overtone of being so overwhelmed by this we can’t control ourselves. We can’t help it: He’s just too intense. Remember, He told Moses, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live.” ³ Falling on the ground as dead is a standard response to His presence in many situations.

Ouch.

Why would any rational person want to step into something that sounds so dangerous?

One very simple reason: God is good. He is the ultimate good. He is forever good. He is absolutely and unequivocally good. So even if He frightens me, why would I not want Him? He cleanses me when I am touched by Him; I’m redeemed by His sacrifice for me.

So back to my first question: Do you believe in the eternal?

Here’s my answer: It’s time to believe in it.

Because the eternal is real, it’s time for us all to live in fear. Why? The day is coming when Jesus will return. “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, you may be also.” ⁴

I will come again, He promised.

It’s okay to doubt this. But you should believe it. Your eternal future depends on it. Because when Jesus does return, He will come for those who already believed in Him before His arrival. Everyone else will be condemned to spend eternity without God’s goodness: the ultimate punishment, which is called hell.

The Bible teaches that these things are so, and that after Jesus returns, it’s simply too late to change it.

So, let your fear be reverence, my friend. Twist and whirl with joy that Jesus is coming for you. Don’t be afraid of what’s happening in the world.

These things are of no eternal consequence. To put it another way: “They don’t matter in the long run.”

So, keep your eye on the long run. It’s the only thing that does matter.

---

1. Matthew 28:5
2. 2 Timothy 1:7
3. Exodus 33:20
4. John 14:3

Image by Vyacheslav Bobin via Pexels