Fearful yet overjoyed

Which is more fearsome: sorrow or joy, glory or shame, death or resurrected life? Is it not joy and glory and resurrection? Are these not less familiar, further beyond our comprehension, more foreign to our fallen nature, and, therefore, more terrifying?

My God, I cannot comprehend the agony of your passion because I cannot comprehend its degree. Still less can I comprehend the glory of your resurrection, because I cannot even comprehend its substance, its essence, its “what-it-is-ness.”

Yet, Lord, this terrifying place of glory is where You ultimately call me—call us. To the very heights of Heaven.

Grant me the grace of my joy always outweighing my fear. Let me know that what seems so foreign is really what I was created for. Speak into my fear and my joy, “Do not be afraid.” Let me hear Your voice—the voice I know—reminding me that the shadows of You that I saw and loved are still here and still true and still real…more here and more true and more real. There is more. More of You. And it is glorious. And it is fearful. And it is unknown.

Let me strive for Heaven. For there, I will have an eternity to enter the unknown and know it. To enter the foreign and find a home. To enter the fearsome…and be not afraid.

Courage, little heart.

If the night were not terrifying, then we would surely die of fright come dawn.

© Hannah Wood 2026