Pro 22:3 ASV A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
Fearful people cannot allow themselves to think about the growingly clear and obvious signs of coming turmoil. A typical response, when asked if they have made any preparations (for example, preparations to go through the coming global war), is to be told, "NO and I'm not going to live my life in fear!", obviously taking offense at being reminded of the very thing they fear. There is a world of difference between preparation and being afraid. Indeed, fearful people are inevitably UNprepared because of their aversion to considering the growing threat right in front of them. This avoidance is a denial of the obvious reality and it leads to self-deception and the delusion that what is clearly on the cards is not real at all, a kind of wishful or "magical" thinking, the delusion that if they do not believe it and avoid considering it then it will never happen. On the other hand, those who do prepare, even if they are unsure about when the catastrophe is to arrive, prepare in a calm, puposeful and methodical way. Being easily offended and in a state of inner turbulence, given to angry outbursts, are the marks of a person living in fear, not one who is calm and methodical.
Fear causes a person to freeze, like a rabbit stunned by the headlight beams of an oncoming vehicle, not knowing which way to jump, whether to the left or to the right and, consequently, doing nothing until it is too late. Take the foolish virgins in Yeshua's parable, for instance. Such people are unable to accept that the elect would remain in the world throughout the time of great tribulation, despite the Lord making it clear again and again. Consequently, when presented with the notion that they would have an early escape, they latch onto it, in complete denial of any other possibility, and fail to properly prepare for the storm to come, being then unprepared to face the darkest hour, midnight by definition. They choose to not think about it, even avoiding reading the book of Revelation, saying that it is irrelevant and does not apply to them. Do such actually believe that the Lord provided us with those 22 chapters just for kicks? Perhaps you have encountered such people. When that hour arrives, being wholly unprepared for it, in a panic they will finally act but all too late. The rabbit is no more.
None of us knows exactly what manner of trouble or persecution we face. However, we must do our best not to fear what we do not know. Yes, it can be very difficult, and will be, in the days to come, but the crown of eternal life awaits those who stand firm in faith to the Ever Living God and our Lord and Saviour, Yeshua the Christ, even unto the very end.
If there is any type of fear worth having, it is the fear of God and God alone.
Do not fear man nor the things of man, but do trust in God.
