Some days fear seems to take control of us before we even identify where it’s coming from. My friend Jess Connolly knows what it’s like to stand with shaking knees. She’s also learned that being brave isn’t the absence of fear—it’s taking one small step anyway, right into the arms of One who never lets go. There’s no better fear coach than Jess, and that’s why I’m honored to have her here on the farm’s porch today with a reminder of the power of holy fear…

Guess Post by Jess Connolly

You can’t begin to imagine what a profound pleasure it was to sit down to talk with Jess Connolly in the belltower of our 1896 old stone church — this is genuinely a NOT-TO-BE-MISSED-CONVERSATION….  Don’t miss our powerful video convo below…

Are you scared to see an angel?

I’ll go first: I’m scared of angels.

But I should back up.

I don’t know when the fear began, but I’m going to assume it was around the first time I heard a Sunday school lesson about angels. The physical descriptions of angels in the Word of God span from almost humanlike to absolutely out there.

We’re talking radiant light, glowing beings, wings, and multiple faces; some have swords, and in Ezekiel, there’s an angel described as wheel-shaped and covered in eyes.

So . . . I don’t think it’s crazy that younger me developed a slight trepidation about seeing an angel.

First of all, when I was hearing Bible story after Bible story in said Sunday school class, seeing an angel started to sound like something that might just happen. It wasn’t that crazy or preposterous if it was so common in Scripture. And second of all, the first thing the angel seems to say to the human it’s encountering is “Don’t be afraid.” That’s because the human is beholding something terrifying.

Looking back, I’m not sure if it was the Bible stories, fear about seeing an angel, an early reverence for a mighty God, or just the bigness of the room, but my heart would start palpitating every time I found myself alone in that sanctuary.

“Fear wants to protect us from perceived threats, but fear of the Lord moves us to worship.“

Even up until a few years ago, if I happened to be by myself at Bright City, the church where I now serve, and needed to walk into the worship room to grab something, my pulse would begin to race, my feet would move a little quicker, and I’d feel slightly calmer once I was back in the hallway or my office.

I wonder if it wasn’t that I was scared of seeing an angel but that I was just scared to encounter the Lord. I wonder if I didn’t feel exposed, alone in a seemingly holy setting, and ripe for Him to correct me, call me, or show me some part of Himself that would leave me changed forever.

So maybe it wasn’t angels I was scared of but . . . the Lord. 

That’s a strange confession to make when you’ve spent much of your life telling people they can come close to Him. Yet I wonder how many of us know exactly what I mean. We love God, and we believe He loves us, but we’re also aware that being near Him might change something we were hoping to keep just as it is.

When we’re doing the brave work of being honest about our fears, we might not think to acknowledge our fear of God. How often do we let how we think we should feel dictate what we’ll admit to feeling?

Are you scared of God?

Fear is our body’s natural response to a perceived threat, and it is designed to protect us. Fear’s design—its innate purpose—is actually to keep us safe, which is one reason I want us all to stop feeling such shame about it. Holy fear, the reverence that we see modeled in Scripture and what some of us might call “fear of the Lord,” is rightly ordered awe toward a holy God. Its goal is not to keep us safe from God but to move us toward Him in worship as the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Fear wants to protect us from perceived threats, but fear of the Lord moves us to worship.

“God is not dismayed by your humanity but eager to meet you in it.“

Scripture does not describe people strolling casually into encounters with God’s glory. Again and again, they are shaken.

They become aware of His holiness and, in the same moment, of their own humanity. Yet God meets them there. His invitation to come near does not depend on their ability to look composed while they do it.

Maybe, just maybe, our human fear is one of the vehicles that carries us to godly fear. Maybe, just maybe, God knows and loves how He made our bodies—with full understanding of their automatic physiological responses that are designed to keep us safe. Maybe it’s not so crazy not to want to see an angel, because almost every human who encounters one in Scripture is immediately told, “Do not be afraid.”

Maybe you’re scared of the light, scared of what might happen if you get too close to the Lord, fearful of what He might ask you to do, and terrified of what seemingly illogical things He might call you to. The great news is, He already knows that. God is not dismayed by your humanity but eager to meet you in it.

“… the God whose holiness undoes every pretense is also the Father who welcomes me close.“

I believe that, for many of us, acknowledging our fear is actually the beginning of reverence.

Imagine if, instead, you were overly confident about your own human capacity to encounter and interact with the holy. I don’t know if I’d call that bravery as much as I’d call it pride.

So perhaps the next time I find myself alone in a sanctuary, I can notice my racing heart without rushing for the hallway. I can tell God the truth: I want to know You, and I’m afraid of what being near You might mean.

And I can stay long enough to remember that the God whose holiness undoes every pretense is also the Father who welcomes me close.

A Deeply Life-Giving Conversation: BellTower Stories

Ann Voskamp and Jess Connolly discuss Jess’ new book, You Can’t Be Brave Until You’re Scared. Come join us in BellTower Stories, up in the 1896 bell tower our little Village Table church, as “the bells are the voice of the church, with tones that touch and search.” (Longfellow)

Click right here to listen on Spotify!

Jess Connolly is a coach, a speaker, and the author of multiple books, including Tired of Being Tired, What Comes Next, and You Can’t Be Brave Until You’re Scared. She and her husband, Nick, planted Bright City Church in Charleston, South Carolina, where they are raising their four children. Jess leads Go + Tell Gals and hosts The Jess Connolly Podcast.

You Can’t Be Brave Until You’re Scared is an invitation into an honest reckoning with fear and a better understanding of how it works in your mind, body, and soul—and why biblical fear of the Lord is not a threat but a rescue. If you’re ready to follow God’s call to be strong and courageous not because you’re not scared but in spite of it, let Jess’s powerful teaching lead you to start living as the brave woman God already sees. Pick up the Bible Study Guide too and take on fear with a group of women! 

Connect with her at JessConnolly.com or on Instagram @JessConnolly. 

{Our humble thanks to Baker Books for their partnership in today’s devotional.}