This phrase, “fear not,” including one similar to it, appears four times in the Responsive Reading and Golden Text of this week’s Bible Lesson, titled “Unreality.” It sets the tone for the Lesson by offering encouragement and reassurance. However, this Lesson goes beyond these words of comfort, offering the scientific understanding of God and His power and reality—as shown through the lives of different people in the Bible—that rids our lives of even the need to be afraid. As Science and Health makes clear, “If goodness and spirituality are real, evil and materiality are unreal and cannot be the outcome of an infinite God, good” (p. 277, citation 1). When our thoughts are grounded in that truth, we realize that there is nothing to fear. 

One of the people who illustrates this is Abraham, whom we first meet as Abram in Genesis 12 (cit. 5). He is called by God to leave his homeland and travel to a new place at the age of 75 (verse 4). What a sense of faith and trust he must have had to undertake a journey of that nature at that stage in his life. Abraham demonstrated that he could do what God requested of him. His age was not a factor in his ability to be obedient. God had reassured him, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Gen. 15:1, cit. 6). 

Abraham could not have taken up a journey such as he did if he thought he was “too old,” or if he thought the strength to complete it came from his body. Science and Health provides insight into what happens when we refuse to allow material limitations to bar progress: “To divest thought of false trusts and material evidences in order that the spiritual facts of being may appear,—this is the great attainment by means of which we shall sweep away the false and give place to the true” (p. 428, cit. 10).

In Section III, we find an account of another person who dealt with age-related fears, but from the other end of the spectrum. It’s the story of the shepherd boy David, “a youth,” as King Saul refers to him (I Sam. 17, cit. 9). When the giant Goliath issues his challenge to the armies of Israel, all are afraid, even the king. However, David is not afraid to face Goliath. He doesn’t let his youthfulness prevent him from answering the call to defend his homeland and fellow countrymen from Goliath and the Philistines. David has seen God’s protection in action before, while tending his family’s sheep. The confidence David shows is not because of his own physical stature or battle experience. Otherwise, Saul’s prediction of failure might be accurate. David’s poise comes from something more permanent. He indicates that protection from God is ever present and unyielding. Science and Health puts it this way: “The confidence inspired by Science lies in the fact that Truth is real and error is unreal” (p. 368, cit. 11). 

Not only does the Lesson show us that we can face situations that seem beyond our strength or ability without fear, but it also illustrates the importance of eliminating fear, as key to spiritual healing. In Section V, we find an account of Jesus healing a girl. In the narrative, Jairus, a leader of a synagogue, approaches Jesus and asks him to come and heal his daughter. As they are on the way to Jairus’ house, someone from the house comes to tell them not to bother because the girl has died. As soon as Jesus hears this, he tells Jairus, “Be not afraid, only believe” (Mark 5:36, cit. 13). Upon arriving at the house, they are met with crying and wailing. Jesus allows only his disciples Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents to be in the room with him and the little girl.

Science and Health explains the importance of Jesus’ command: “If you succeed in wholly removing the fear, your patient is healed” (p. 411, cit. 24). Jesus’ request to keep the “tumult” out of the room symbolically demonstrates this and helps explain what allowed Jesus to heal Jairus’ daughter and prove the eternal fact that “the divine Mind that made man maintains His own image and likeness” ( Science and Health, p. 151, cit. 25).

When we understand the permanence of God’s care, our fears are dispelled.

In Section I we find this statement: “As frightened children look everywhere for the imaginary ghost, so sick humanity sees danger in every direction, and looks for relief in all ways except the right one” (Science and Health, p. 371, cit. 4). Age and health challenges are two of the many issues that can confront us and cause us to look for help in many disparate directions. This Lesson clearly points us in the right direction by helping us understand the permanence of God’s care. As Psalm 91 puts it, “He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (cit. 16). When we truly understand this, our fears are dispelled, and we experience the omnipotence of God.