At that point they went wild, a rioting mob of catcalls and whistles and invective. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed—he only had eyes for God, whom He saw in all His glory with Jesus standing at His side. He said, “Oh! I see heaven wide open and the Son of Man standing at God’s side!” (Acts 7:54-56 ESV)
FEAR NOT… THEN HEAVEN
Courage is not the absence of fear. Among the many who have attempted to explain this, Mark Twain wrote, ““Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
Stephen, probably freshly ordained as a deacon, overcame the natural urge to be afraid. Luke writes that Stephen only had eyes for God. He saw God instead of the threats of God’s enemies.
This might seem like a metaphor, an exaggeration, or a turn of phrase. But the next sentence makes it clear that Stephen, after his fear, saw heaven.
Perhaps Stephen was able to see heaven because he had moved beyond fear.
Perhaps the hope of that view was what enabled Stephen to move beyond fear.
Perhaps Stephen had eyes for heaven because he refused to look at things that caused fear.
Perhaps it was all three.
But Stephen had replaced his fear with heaven. Follow Stephen’s eyes.
Fear not, then heaven.