Over the month of October, I wanted to write a really good, scary, short-story. However, against all my efforts, I could not think of any way to write a meaningful story with fear. The day after Halloween (All Saints Day), I began to think more: how do I portray a truth through fear? As soon as that thought entered into my mind, I came to a realization- God never uses fear to give light to the truth; Satan uses fear to distort it.
Fear- in the scientific sense- is an emotion that developed in animals as a means to trigger the ‘fight or flight’ response. It occurred to me that this might be a reason why the devil uses this emotion so effectively. Like lust, rage, or other strong emotions, the devil whispers a thought which is irresistible to ignore, and captures all our focus. This results in isolating us from thinking clearly. Once we get held by fear, it wraps around us in almost a fascination, and we can’t let go.
With regards to discernment, fear can seemingly come from nowhere, and grip us in this despair. With a doubting thought like, “I don’t know if I will be able to handle this.” A vicious, frightening spiral can start. Like a child who is afraid of the dark, this uncertainly- this fear of the unknown- can render a discerner unmovable. Perhaps even worse, you might not even know what you’re afraid of, but you just have this feeling of dread.
This is not God’s voice. Satan is cunning; he’ll make you doubt yourself, and make you think you can’t do this alone. He’s right, if you are alone, your fears will come true. This is the point; Satan distorts the truth- giving part but not the whole- because you are not alone!
Fear of the unknown is a normal thing that comes with God’s call in any vocation, but how do we work through it? In the transition from Halloween to Advent in this month of November, we can see in the Gospel of Luke how our Blessed Mother reacted to God’s call, “And coming to her, he (the Archangel Gabriel) said, “Hail favored one, the Lord is with you.” But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” (Luke 1:28-1:30) In this passage we see that even Mary is afraid, but the angel tells her that she has “favor with God.” As a human person, you are called one way or another, and you also have favor with God- who is the best companion you could possibly have.
Armed with the information from Gabriel, Mary’s answer rings out emphatically for all the ages, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
Our Blessed Mother is the pinnacle example of responding to the call of God. Just like us, she was afraid, but once she recognized the voice from God, there was no need to fear.
The question becomes: how do I recognize the voice of God in my life? Without holding back, declare, “May it be done to me according to your word.” And know God will lead you. With him as a guide, nothing can harm you, and there will be no reason to fear.
Patrick Erdmann
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- Faith and Trust - October 24, 2017
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