2014-01-26 Daniel Daring 2013 articles 2012 articles
How to overcome fear
Psalm 27 - Isaiah 8:23-9:3; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. 17; Matthew 4:12-17. 23-25
A friend of mine recently complained that all preaching done in our
churches is based on the Gospel; rarely can one hear a homily that is entirely
based on a psalm. Taking this complaint personally, I will try to share a few
thoughts on today's Psalm 27, which begins with a declaration of faith and a
rhetorical question: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I
fear? The Lord is the refuge of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Eunjoo was about to graduate from a top university
in Korea when suddenly she developed agoraphobia. Nothing could force her to
leave her house, the only place she considered “safe;” even a short travel
from home to school triggered panic attacks. The dream of having a successful
career and a family of her own was being ruined by fear.
Fear - the unwelcome companion on our journey
through life. We fear so many things: to make a mistake, to get seriously ill,
the things to come, and things beyond our control. We are afraid to lose someone
who is important to us and disappoint our loved ones. In democratic nations,
people live in constant fear of losing jobs; in nations with a totalitarian
regime, they fear their government. Moreover, each person has his/her own
greatest fear. I am afraid to die, he is afraid to lose eyesight, and she - to
grow old alone. A wife trembles when
her husband enters the house; a husband gets silenced when his wife opens her
mouth; a employee panics while reading the memo of the boss. Yes. Fear is our
faithful companion on our journey through life. The scientists consider it as
one among several basic human emotions and judge it an extremely valuable
mechanism of survival. In 2007, the Catholic Bishop Conference of a certain
country issued a pastoral letter in which the hierarchy forbade the priests and
nuns to join anti-government peaceful demonstrations. It was a very prudent
decision, taking into consideration the precarious position of the Catholic
Church in that country and the ruthlessness of the government. Yet, was it the
right decision? Fear, a valuable mechanism of survival, can at the same time be
extremely paralyzing, preventing us from speaking the truth and action based on
what we know is right. “The Lord
is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the refuge of my
life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Why are we so fearful? There may be many answers to
this questions but, perhaps, a memorable quote from Plato can shed some light on
this problem: “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the
real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” The question of the
Psalmist - “whom shall I fear?” - can only become a rhetorical one if the
Lord is our light. As long as He is not, as long as we try to substitute the
Lord with our idols, we are going to walk in darkness with fear by our side.
Fear is going to rob our minds of all “powers of acting and reasoning” (E.
Burke), and, according to Aung San Suu Kyi (1991), it is also going to corrupt
our hearts: “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power
corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who
are subject to it” (Freedom from Fear, p. 180).
Eunjoo underwent many different therapies, which
considerably improved her condition, but there was no hope for completing her
studies. She could hardly concentrate – a side effect of medication; she
became apathetic and unwilling to meet people. How can one get rid of such
unpleasant companions?
According to the Psalm 27, faith in God can set us
free from fear: I shall not fear, because the Lord is my Light, my Salvation,
and my Refuge. These three descriptions of God evoke a feeling of being safe.
Light dispels darkness; salvation ends imprisonment; and refuge gives protection
from enemy or bad weather. However, the psalmist is also aware that life does
not make things easy for us. We often find ourselves in the situation of
darkness, we get ourselves imprisoned in different kinds of addictions, and we
often run from powerful enemies or battle destructive storms of life. For such
situations, the psalmist has this three-fold advice: (1) wait for the Lord; (2)
be strong; (3) take courage (Psalm 27:14).
Patience is needed to overcome our fears. Victory
does not happen overnight. “Do the thing you fear to do and keep on doing
it... that is the quickest and surest way ever yet discovered to conquer
fear,” is the very practical advice of Dale Carnegie. Aside from being
patient, we also need to be mentally strong. There will be many failures along
the way. The tempter will whisper that it is not worth the effort, and we may
think of giving up. Yet, we should not succumb to such thoughts. Finally, we
should encourage ourselves recalling our small victories and achievements. There
is no need to focus on what we still fear, but remind ourselves about those
fears we have been able to overcome. The goal of being set free from fear is
within our reach.
One day, the family of Eunjoo was visited by a
missionary, who was also a professional counselor. The parents told him the sad
story of their daughter. To their surprise, the priest said: 'In one month, she
will be back to school. But she has to obey my directions and trust me.' An
exposure treatment began. For a week, Eunjoo was told to leave the house and go
only to the main gate of their property, stay there for a while, and then come
back. The following week, she had to walk one hundred meters from the main gate
to the bus station, be there for a while, and then come back. The third week,
Eunjoo was walking from the main gate to the market and then coming back. The
last week, Eunjoo was told to enter a mall and walk among the people for about
an hour. Eunjoo put all her faith in this therapy. She fought back the oncoming
panic attacks with a Christian mantra, 'Jesus! Save me!” The missionary also
suggested to read inspiring stories about healing, pray with the Gospels, and
listen to relaxing music. In one month, Eunjoo was able to get back to her
normal life.
I would like to close this reflection with another
quote from Aung San Suu Kyi: “Fearlessness may be a gift but perhaps more
precious is the courage acquired through endeavour, courage that comes from
cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions, courage
that could be described as 'grace under pressure' – grace which is renewed
repeatedly in the face of harsh, unremitting pressure” (p. 184). Let us not
allow ourselves to act based on our fears. Let us cultivate small acts of
courage that lead to freedom from fear. Proclaiming God as our light, salvation,
and refuge, we trust that we shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of
the living (Psalm 27:13).