Article August 8, 1988 Issue

Don't be fooled by fear's disguises!

No matter what disguise it may wear, fear can be dispelled by the truth of God's omnipresence.

Elaine Schuster Dent

One summer day many years ago, my sister and I went to the beach for a swim. Since the tide was out and the water low, we had to wade a great distance from shore in order to swim. Since we were enjoying the water, we hardly noticed the commotion that had started on the beach. Suddenly we realized everyone was leaving the water. People on shore were waving their arms and shouting, "Shark!" We began to splash and stumble through the water too, trying to reach shore. Then we saw a woman wading calmly toward us. As she passed us, we saw that she was heading right in the direction of a large black object lying just below the surface. We watched as she pulled out of the water a long piece of tar-paper roofing—not a shark at all! Apparently the woman had stumbled on this object earlier and knew it wasn't anything to fear.

I've often recalled this incident and used it as a reminder that fear can be dispelled by truth. The Bible gives examples of individuals who mastered fear by trusting in the truth of God's ever-present, all-powerful love. Moses, for example, became frightened when his staff changed into a serpent. When prompted to return and pick it up by the tail (the last place one would want to pick up a snake), Moses was obedient. Immediately the snake became a rod.^{See Ex. 4:2–4 .}

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, refers to this experience: "The illusion of Moses lost its power to alarm him, when he discovered that what he apparently saw was really but a phase of mortal belief."^{Science and Health, p. 321.}

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