What to do if you’re feeling afraid

In a moment of fear, perhaps we’ve been told, “Don’t be afraid.” While some may find that statement comforting, for others it might be challenging. Though it’s encouraging to think that we don’t have to be ruled by fear, the news or difficult events in our own lives might make us wonder if it’s really possible to find freedom from fear.

But it can be done. Once we realize that fear isn’t an actual power, we can lose our fear of fear, our fear of being affected by fear, and ultimately fear itself – we’re no longer afraid.

Fear does seem like a power, like something that can push us around – paralyze and terrorize us. But mentally scroll back 2,000 or so years, and we can find comfort – and instruction about what to do if we’re feeling afraid – from a man who was clearly unmoved by fear. The man was Christ Jesus, and his words to his followers were, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).

Jesus’ simple promise illustrates his understanding of the allness of God, our universal Father. This allness precludes any possibility of there being something other than God’s kingdom, which is all good. It means there is nothing to fear, because God’s goodness truly is everywhere and all-encompassing.

Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, was a student of Jesus’ teachings, and in her discovery, she explained more about the nature of this kingdom that Jesus called God’s gift. She saw that it is governed by spiritually scientific facts – such as the supremacy of good – and that these spiritual facts can actually be proved. She also exposed the nothingness and powerlessness of fear in light of this reality when she wrote, “Science saith to fear, ‘You are the cause of all sickness; but you are a self-constituted falsity, – you are darkness, nothingness. You are without ‘hope, and without God in the world.’ You do not exist, and have no right to exist, for perfect Love casteth out fear’ ” (“Retrospection and Introspection,” p. 61).

If we feel overwhelmed by fear, this passage gives us a useful place for our prayer to start. It hits fear head-on with an authoritative denial of fear’s reality or even ability to seem to exist. This type of denial is effective because it eliminates the pull that would lead us down the dead-end road of fear.

But denial isn’t where the passage ends. With fear silenced, thought opens to what’s really true: that perfect Love, God, casts out fear. A recognition of the omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, and omniaction of Love obliterates any possibility of belief in another power, because Love’s allness means that we are protected, secure, and cared for. Being confident of God’s presence and feeling safe in God’s care become paramount in our consciousness.

So since God is All, the question might come, “What, then, is fear?” Only a suggestion that there is something other than good, God. Fear is a supposition, not a reality. Think of it like a mistake in math. If we calculate that two plus two equals five, it doesn’t change the fact that two plus two equals four. We can operate under the misperception that it’s five, but as soon as we see that it’s four, we are no longer affected by the mistake. So it is with fear. When we see that it has no reality or power, it ceases to have any effect on us.

This was brought home to me after I was seriously injured when the horse I was riding was spooked by an oncoming bicycle, and I was thrown. After recovering, I was terrified by the thought of getting back on a horse. I tried several times but quickly had to get off because of the paralyzing fear.

The prayer that healed me of that fear was based on the understanding of God’s dear love – the perfect love that casts out fear. There was a moment while I was praying that I became aware of the encompassing and powerful presence of this love. I consciously yielded my fear to the conviction of God’s unwavering presence. The fear was completely gone in minutes, and I was able to ride again with joy.

Whatever we’re facing – be it a terror of disease or terrorism in the world – that simple message to “fear not” still comes to us today. It’s more than an instruction; it’s the voice of Truth – not a person, but a Christly power – telling us that we don’t have to be afraid. And with this message comes a confidence that good does prevail and that we are free to move through our days secure in God’s wonderful care of our lives.

Originally published as an editorial in the March 4, 2024, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.