The destruction of fear ranks high in importance in the practice of Christian Science. In the textbook, Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy declares, "Christian scientific practice begins with Christ's keynote of harmony, 'Be not afraid!'" ^{Science and Health, p. 410;} And she admonishes us, "Always begin your treatment by allaying the fear of patients."  ^{p. 411;} As we work to solve our problems by applying Christian Science, we find our task immeasurably eased if the very first step we take is to annihilate fear. Fear would shackle us as with chains. It would weaken our conviction of Truth. It would suggest, secretly and mentally, that we may not be equal to the demand made upon us, that the sin, disease, or other discord may be too serious for us to heal.

Thoughts like this need to be silenced at the outset, and the fear that produces them wiped out. Once this is done—and it always can be—we find ourselves doing as David did in his confrontation with Goliath. We run to meet the problem, confident and strong.

Why was David so fearless? Because he was absolutely sure of God's power and willingness to aid him. He said, "The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine."  ^{I Sam. 17:3;}

There was another reason for the shepherd boy's fearlessness. He saw that the battle was not just his but the Lord's. He boldly declared to the Philistine: "I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. . . . The battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands."

Evil is an illusion that attempts not so much to defy us as to defy "the living God." Evil, whatever its apparent form, is always a lying assertion that there is a power other than God, good, at least equal to God and possibly superior. Evil tries futilely to oppose God. But since God is actually all the power there is or ever will be, the final destruction of evil and the deliverance of mortals from its claims are inevitable.

The solution of every human problem lies in the hands of the Almighty God. This being the case, why do we fear? We fear because we believe that the work must be done by ourselves, who at best have only a limited understanding of divine power and a personal grasp of Truth. Naturally, this gives rise to some misgiving as to the outcome of the battle. It would be wiser if we would always elevate our thought of the whole situation into the realm of Mind, into the presence and power of God.

Had David only measured the confrontation with Goliath as a person-to-person encounter, he would not have gotten very far. This view of the encounter would have so belittled him that he would have defeated himself. But David in some degree saw that what Goliath was challenging was not one man, nor an army of men, but the almighty, irresistible power of the Lord of Hosts. And his challenge was therefore doomed to defeat.

Divine Mind's power to deliver mortal man from his fears and false beliefs about himself is absolute, limitless, and irresistible. When our problem seems gigantic, a veritable Goliath among problems, it is only because fear has been permitted to speak. But if we have first rid ourselves of fear and seen that the battle is the Lord's, we can face the foe with joy and eagerness. Evil cannot of itself stand before good. It is only our fear of and belief in the reality of evil that makes it frightening.

So-called material power cannot really fight against the omnipotence of God because the two are not even in the same realm of existence and cannot be weighed against each other. They do not coexist, since one is real and the other unreal; and the real, the spiritual and eternal, when demonstrated, shows the unreal to be nonexistent.

At one time Mrs. Eddy wrote in a message to her Church, "A man's fear, unconquered, conquers him in whatever direction." ^{Message to The Mother Church for 1901 p. 13;} Fear does not always appear as terror or panic; it often has far less recognizable forms that enter mortal consciousness in insidious ways and lurk so deeply that we may not realize their presence. But the Christ, the light of Truth, is continually uncovering what needs to be disclosed, and it will uncover to us our latent fears and free us from them.

A nebulous fear that used to beset me was a great plague to me until I saw that it was hindering all progress and must be uprooted. It was not a fear of anything in particular but a kind of steady apprehensiveness, an anxiety that I might not be doing right, thinking right, measuring up to the highest standards, or that I might not be able to make the right decision, be courageous when called upon for courage, or wise when wisdom was needed. When I recognized that this condition was nothing but fear, I began to apply persistently and vehemently the truths of Christian Science to it. Eventually it faded out, until one day I realized it was no longer with me. Thus I learned that fear sometimes hides its own nature, calls itself by other names, and masquerades in many guises.

In the Christian Science Hymnal are these words:

The remedy for fear is the ever-developing consciousness that God is always loving us, nourishing us, and giving us all good; that He is the only presence, the only power, the only Mind; that He provides all we need at all times. An understanding of this begets full faith in God and enables us to obey the Biblical injunction, "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." ^{I Pet. 5:6, 7:} Then we appreciate the scientific comfort of the words of Christ Jesus, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." ^{Luke 12: 32.}