Fear is a consequence of sin and reflects the limitations of the human soul. Fears come in different ways. Just as there are many kinds of people, so also are there different kinds of fear. Some are afraid of the dark, others are afraid of closed spaces or heights, and still, others are afraid of being alone or speaking in front of people. There are diverse types of fears, but their common trait is that they immobilize us. By paralyzing us, our fears prevent us from continuing on the course of our normal lives.
Fear prevents us from doing more, saying more, and being more. Fear impedes us from fulfilling our divine calling in this life. Often, due to fears or illusions of fears that become comingled and mixed with our reality, we cannot at times distinguish real danger from illusory fears. Fear and anxiety often cause serious health problems.
The best way to overcome fear, as St. John the Apostle writes, is to focus on God’s love: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.” (1 John 4:18) The more often we fix our eyes on God’s love and His fatherly care, the more we realize that fear can have no power over us. God's perfect love drives away all fear, uncertainty, and worry. His loving presence illuminates every dark corner of our troubled hearts, healing all our wounds and infirmities.
It is simply enough for the rays of the shadowless light of God’s love to arise, so that “darkness flees, fog departs, twilight vanishes, darkness lifts, the night passes, alarm is banished, evil is destroyed, despair is exiled,” (Narek, 41) and in our renewed hearts rules the almighty Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
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