Neutralizing fear

I would suppose every person has at some time pondered just what he would do in a surprise critical situation. Over two thousand years ago a wise man urged, ''Be not afraid of sudden fear.'' n1

n1 Proverbs 3:25.

Fear is usually a dread of some impending unpleasantness. It is generated by the conviction that life is a thing of physicality. A concomitant of this conviction is the acceptance of personal vulnerability to accident or to harm from some other cause. Many remedies for fear are tried, often with little real success. But healing can be found in the scientific apprehension of man's safety as the loved spiritual offspring of God. This understanding can be gained through a study of the Bible, and the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. n2

n2 Mrs. Eddy is the Discover and Founder of Christian Science. TThrough this study we begin to see the allness of God, good, and the nothingness of anything unlike good. So it is only natural for earnest students of the Bible to trust God for their safety, as the Psalmist did when he declared , ''I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.'' n3 To have the conviction that God is All, that there is only omnipresent good, leaves no room for anything but the complete harmony of dominion over fear. This was brought forcibly to my attention recently.

n3 Psalms 23:4.

We usually leave the door to our guest house unlocked. I entered it one afternoon and was accosted by an intruder who brandished a knife. He explained that he had wanted to get in out of the rain, but he still held the knife at ready. I had such a conscious sense of dominion that I was totally unafraid. That morning I had been prayerfully studying about Life, God, in the Bible and in the Christian Science textbook. This work had been exhilarating, so filled with the joy of life and good that I just could not credit any evil situation.

I invited the youth to sit down and talk. During our conversation he indicated that there had been problems in his family and said that he had run away from home. Then he remarked, ''I see your books. Are you a Christian Scientist? What is Science?''

I read him some passages from Science and Health, including the first sentence in the chapter ''Prayer'': ''The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God, - a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love.'' n4 Then I told him of some healings I had had as the result of prayer. He told me that he had a Bible in his knapsack. Then he said that maybe he should return to his home, which was in another state. Before he left he said, ''You have helped me a lot.'' And he shook my hand with a firm grip.

n4 Science and Health, p. 1.

Christ Jesus said, ''If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'' n5 The Science of Christianity was demonstrated by Christ Jesus as the natural functioning of the law of God, good, in human affairs, which frees us from evil, whatever its form. Today this same law of spiritual power is demonstrated as we have ''an absolute faith that all things are possible to God.''

n5 John 8:31,32.

Fear indicates discord and unrest, which call for the assurance of harmony promised by Christ Jesus. They call for the truth that makes free. I experienced this freedom when surprised by what appeared to be a violent intruder. There was no time for analysis, argument, logic. It was a glorious illustration of the immediacy of God's healing Christ, Truth, which is always present to satisfy the human cry for answers. The Christ blessed not only me but the young man as well. It can bless each of us today through the operation of God's law, which, when acknowledged and trusted, neutralizes fear and makes us free. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry. Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not. O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. Lamentations 3:56-58

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