An Antidote to Fear

For the thing I’ve dreaded has come upon me, And what I feared has happened to me. Job 3:25

I don’t suppose there is any more relevant topic for this present moment than that of fear. 2020 was a year full of fear for many people, with illness, political turmoil, and racial tension at all-time highs. Now we’re in 2021, having survived the snow and ice catastrophe of a couple weeks ago, and still feeling afraid. But now it’s fear of the impact of all this intensity, the long-term effects of all these things upon us, our families, and our communities. 

Fear controls, and it does so by trying to get me to control the things (people, places, circumstances) around which I experience fear. Living life that way is the quickest way to burn out and break relationships that I know of. And, for those on the receiving end of that control, it’s debilitating and discouraging.

I was in a writing group recently, and the subject of fear came up. We talked a bit up front, wrote for 20 minutes, then came back and shared. What caught my attention in our discussion was what a couple of people said about being in challenging circumstances and having a very different experience than ever before. Both people mentioned that they would normally have felt fear in those circumstances, but that they had felt something new. In the place where fear usually resided, they both felt love fill them up. Not bravery, courage, nor even strength, but love. 

I guess when I think of being afraid, I feel I need to muster those things—courage, bravery, or strength. Those are the opposing character traits to fear, right? But the scriptures tell us “Perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). And Jesus tells us to love our enemies, people we would normally fear. 

It’s odd that I never really thought this before, because I know that when we are feeling love and are relationally connected, we are opening up the creative side of our brains. If any circumstance would benefit from creativity, fearful ones certainly would. And then I think about those other situations mentioned above: the pandemic, the political and racial turmoil. I guess I can tend to push through my fears related to these things, try to muster up courage or strength. But what if I could love my way through them? Perhaps you and I could ask God to replace our fear with love, the love my friends felt fill them up, and see what happens. I don’t think we have anything to lose. I am going to try it. How about you?