Article September 27, 1919 Issue

Fear Powerless

MOLLIE ORR WALDRON

HUMAN existence without a correct understanding of God is devoid of any permanent joy or peace, because mortals are ignorant of the fact that good alone is real and is the only power. Some people are more deeply immersed in the belief that evil has power than are others; and it is with the hope of helping these fearful ones that this article is written. From childhood I was made miserable by fear. It always seemed natural to me to look on the dark side of things and to be constantly expecting for myself and my loved ones. I had much religious teaching, but it did not afford me any peace or comfort; in fact, the scholastic beliefs about God which were presented to me really made me more afraid of Him than of anything else. I passed many years in this condition of ignorance, "having no hope, and without God in the world," until I was finally led to the study of Christian Science.

My first glimpse of the truth was so satisfying and uplifting that I was transported to the mountain top, dwelling there happy and seemingly fearless for a short time; but I was obliged to come down into the valley and to begin to prove for myself the great fact that good is the only power. Our Leader says in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 569), "The sin, which one has made his bosom companion, comes back to him at last with accelerated force, for the devil knoweth his time is short." This I proved to be true; for when it dawned upon me that the danger lay in the fear of evil conditions and not in the conditions themselves, I became as afraid of fear as I had ever been of the material germ, climate, and so forth. Indeed, it seemed worse; for I could not run away from evil suggestions as I had from things and places, nor could I allow myself to find an outlet by continually voicing error as formerly. This struggle in my thought lasted for many years, and although my progress seemed very slow, I did not get discouraged, but kept continually meeting the suggestions of fear with the affirmation of the truth that good alone is power. I declared the truth over and over again though it often seemed to be repetition words; for I reasoned that as the child learns to understand the multiplication table by applying the rule over and over again, I could learn the truth about power in the same way if I were sufficiently patient and persistent.

I am grateful to say that my efforts to cling to God were bounteously rewarded; for one day I realized quite clearly that my salvation was being beautifully worked out, that the sick had been healed and the home regenerated despite the fear and trembling. Since then I have never been in such bondage to fear, for I have proved in a small degree what our Leader has said on page 273 of Science and Health, "Science shows that material, conflicting mortal opinions and beliefs emit the effects of error all times, but this atmosphere of mortal mind cannot be destructive to morals and health when it is opposed promptly and persistently by Christian Science." Let the fearful ones rejoice that we have such comforting assurance. If we cannot at once silence these suggestions of fear, we know that we can finally nullify them by prompt and persistent clinging to the truth.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Fear Powerless

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access