Article July 6, 2020 ISSUE

Overcoming fear of the unknown

Chet Manchester

First appeared as a Web Original on April 30, 2020

Of all the fears that nag at us, fear of the unknown can seem the most terrifying. The COVID-19 pandemic is a case in point. From the start, media reports have tended to magnify the fear and uncertainty many already feel by bombarding us daily with disturbing images and worst-case scenarios. “There’s a lot we just don’t know,” experts tell us.

By contrast, God is described in the Bible as all-knowing. Psalm 139 begins: “Lord, you have examined me and you know me. You know everything I do;... You are all around me on every side; you protect me with your power.... Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence?” (verses 1, 2, 5, 7, Good News Translation). The writer of this soulful prayer lived in the same world we do, but saw it differently. Spiritual sense revealed to him God’s all-pervading presence. And this awareness of God’s presence may even have come during a time of crisis, as many of the Bible’s greatest insights did.

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