On Fear

Fear is evil. It paralyses us and renders us ineffective. Generally defined, fear is an apprehension of something or someone. In Christian terms, fear is a distrust of God with what’s going on in our lives. For example, if something out of the ordinary is happening we may fear it because we did not welcome it - but that is exactly where trust in God is truly tested.

Fear is doubt. It is the negative voice in our heads that tells us we cannot do something. Fear is ever present ready to bring us down and halt our advancement. Fear wants us to stay in the same place indefinitely without growth or passion. In fear we let go of God and hold on to the hurdle at hand. Scripture tells us not to fear and to trust in the Lord:

“Blessed are all who put their trust in him,” (Ps. 2:11)

“All those that put their trust in Thee rejoice,” (Ps. 5:12)

“He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him,” (Ps. 18:30)

God is to be trusted. He is the one individual that won’t deceive us and who can be trusted. How many times have we been let down by others? In Christ we won’t be let down, because He is His own word (John 1:1). God is our rock in moments of doubt, because He is true.

We are told by the Catechism of the Catholic Church that fear is an anticipation of something bad when we should be trusting in the Lord through love:

“There are many passions. The most fundamental passion is love, aroused by the attraction of the good. Love causes a desire for the absent good and the hope of obtaining it; this movement finds completion in the pleasure and joy of the good possessed. The apprehension of evil causes hatred, aversion, and fear of the impending evil; this movement ends in sadness at some present evil, or in the anger that resists it,” (CCC 1765).

In love there is freedom: “The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to “the slavery of sin,” (CCC 1733).

Nothing is ever accomplished through fear. Only in love are we able to see the good in our lives. The next time you feel fear creeping up remember that you are acting in love and that God will honor your choices and keep you from evil. There really is nothing to fear, but fear itself...