Growing up, Easter Sunday was always a day of joy and celebration. The rich worship at church and wonderful feast at home made for one happy day. But recently I’ve been reflecting on the fact that Resurrection Sunday once elicited a very different emotion: fear.

When the angel of the Lord appeared at the tomb, the guards were overcome by fear and “fell into a dead faint” (Matthew 28:4). Likewise, the women were frightened by the angel of the Lord, whose face shone like lightning and whose clothes were as white as snow. He so startled them that his first words were, “Don’t be afraid!” He then said, “I know you are looking for Jesus” (Matthew 28:5).

Clearly, they were in need of some comfort! And when the believers saw the resurrected Jesus for the first time, they fell at His feet in worship as He assured them: “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, for they will see me there” (Matthew 28:10).

In this age, it seems strange to think of Easter as a day of fear because we think fear is negative, and Easter and negative don’t fit. But I think this is the wrong way to understand what took place. The fear that the first witnesses of the resurrection experienced was the fear of the Lord, which fits quite well with feelings of joy! It’s a reverent fear.

Sometimes we separate emotions from one another, thinking that there are certain emotions that just don’t go together—either happy or mournful, joyful or sad. But the resurrection reminds us that in all moments of life, even the most joyful, the fear of the Lord can and should be present. As we rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus is alive, we should also be in awe of the power of God that raised Him from the dead!

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 2 Samuel 11:1-27