Article August 24, 1929 Issue

The Mastery of Fear

ROBERT F. MILLER

The Revelator writes, "He that overcometh, . . . to him will I give power over the nations." David proved this truth by overcoming fear instilled by the champion Goliath. The armies of Israel were at a standstill. Spread out before them in battle array were the armies of the Philistines, and foremost in their midst was their champion. The record does not indicate that the Philistine army presented anything formidable to the Israelites until Goliath, clad in heavy armor, appeared on the scene. Even though this giant measured in height "six cubits and a span," it is improbable that one such person could bring to a standstill the thousands comprising the armies of Israel.

These armies of Israel, it must be remembered, were seeking to obey the one true God. The Goliath that brought them to a standstill symbolized wrong thinking, superinduced by fear. Through his trust in God, David met and mastered this fear. He had previously tested the protecting and saving power of God in his single-handed encounter with a lion and a bear; and this experience served him well in preparing his thought for the greater task of delivering his people from their enemies. David's strength and courage increased through recalling God's sustaining power in previous successful encounters with evil. For him helmets of brass, spears, and heavy armor were not to be compared with spiritual strength.

The angels of God's presence and power enable us to stand firm in severe encounters with the testimony of the material senses. Many times it may seem that we have nothing to cling to but the knowledge that we have on past occasions proved the strength of the truth against some besetment of evil belief, and thus we learn, as our Leader tells us in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 410), that "every trial of our faith in God makes us stronger."

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