Giving Each Fear a Name

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

— Marie Curie (1867–1934)

It really does pay to understand why we fear what we fear, even if we cannot overcome it entirely. It really does pay to become curious within the realms of our fright, anxiousness, and grief.

When we explore our fear, taking our time to courageously enter into the chasm darkness, we regale the most certain sense of God; we do not venture alone. And as we explore and get to know these fears—by character, appearance, and manifestation—we grow in our capacity to believe beyond our fears; that is, we see a brighter world beyond the narrowness of fear.

Getting to Know Our Fears

As we get to know our fears, in the greater cognisance of our curiosity, courageously venturing forth despite our quivering concern, we get the opportunity to name our fears.

We name them possibly by character, by appearance, or by manifestation.

When we name them they do not become closer to us, they become pleasantly more distant. We can externalise the fear this way. And externalised fear is a controllable fear. When we have gained control the fear no longer has the negative power it used to have.

It might otherwise seem like a foolish thing to do, to get to know our fears. But as we plumb the depths of our timidity, our cowardice, our avoidance, we find the fear simply vanishes under the weight of truth. The truth is revealed by our curious sense to seek knowledge and to fight for our way to redeem the sort of control God wants us to have over our lives.

God does not want us controlled by fear; God wants us controlled by only one matter; if we have fear only for the Lord, we have the ability and confidence to do all good things.

So as we get to know our fears by naming them—in their colours of character, appearance, and manifestation—we become more or less fearless. We prove to ourselves, by our faith in God, that there is nothing to fear but fear alone, other than the most reverent respect for the Lord our God.

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There is power in naming our fears, for when we do this we separate ourselves from the negative power of our fears. We gain enough distance that we see with a bolder perspective. When God is with us, as he is always, we have nothing to fear, but the fear of offending God.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.