“Fear not” is the most common admonition/directive/command in the Bible, appearing dozens of times, by some counts more than a hundred.
So how would you respond to an angel telling you to fear not?
Fear not? Are you flippin' crazy?! Fear not?! Have you not seen what has happened, what is happening, and what is bound to happen?!
Fear not…...there's one impractical admonition delivered by the angels.
Fear not, but keep your head down and don't breathe too loudly.
Fear not, but keep your eyes open…..or is it "keep your eyes closed"?
Dare we close our eyes and miss the show of impending doom?
Fear not, you white-robed messenger with your wings to get you the heck out of here. But we're stuck here, with precious few instructions.
Danged right we're gonna fear, for we have seen, we have felt, we know how bad it can get.
Cut us a little slack here, bro, indulge us a little fear. We've earned it. We could use a little rescuing for a change.
In the meantime, we'll keep trying, and God help us, even keep loving, and maybe even call it worship. I'd say that's not a bad stab at "fearing not", all things considered.
Cut us a little slack when this world and our fate scare the bejeebers out of us. Stick around and see how long you fear not.
You angels and we humans each have our role in the Purpose. We accept our role, and that means accepting fear, and going on anyway. That's what faith means down here. Thanks for the encouragement. We'll do our best to not fear. But in the meantime give us a little credit for faith that keeps on in the face of that fear.