A patient recently commented to me, “I know that fear is the expectation of evil.” The idea is not new to me, but the wording caught my attention and caused me to think deeper about how one can know whether evil or good is dominating one’s thought.
According to this short proverb, if we are feeling any fear whatsoever, a belief in evil is holding our mental attention somewhere or somehow. We must be honest about this.
It’s easy to mouth the words of God is Love and Truth is all power, and so on. But are we really feeling the meaning of the truths we state? If we’re fearful, we aren’t quite there yet. With fear, we may still sincerely know and believe that God is all-powerful good, but we’re also holding to a degree, somewhere in thought, that evil is more powerful than God. We have more faith in the evil than in God, thus the fear.
This is not a discouraging fact to observe. It’s very encouraging, because it tells us what signs to look for to see how we’re progressing in our understanding and demonstration of Truth.
If we’re feeling fear, there is an evil suggestion that needs to be taken head on and wiped out until we no longer believe it. Once the belief is gone, fear has no basis to exist. It will vanish, and peace takes over.
So, be honest about your expectations today. Are they good? Are they positive? Are they aligned with what God is doing and causing to happen? Are they according to Truth? If so, you’re in a good place mentally and spiritually, and will see progressive results.
Thank you. very true. We are taught very young that our job is to manage evil, that good is a fluke that is bestowed on us when God chooses. I do not believe that but I still am concerned when I feel fear that evil is right behind it. I feel vulnerable to this fantasy. Fear can be my signal that I am holding on to an erroneous thought that evil exists and banish it.
Very helpful, Evan, thank you! I’m encouraged to face the aggressive belief of fear (in whatever form) and to wipe it out. Trust, based on spiritual understanding, is the expectation of good. Sincerest thanks again for this post and for all your healing work and prayer for Church.
One thing we can know for sure: fear doesn’t come from God. And on that basis we can begin to diminish our fears until they disappear one by one by realizing they have no divine authority or right to be. As a beloved hymn states:” All fears are foes, truth tatters those, when understood.” Fear can alert us to where we are vulnerable in our thinking. We can rejoice that facing our fears honestly and allowing Truth to tatter those fears, brings understanding and a firmer ground to stand on. Much to ponder here, Evan, thank you! The definition of fear as the expectation of evil is clear as a bell.
Thank you, Evan! What a Wake Up Call! I think Fear is an educated belief that we are taught as very young children……”Watch Out for This, Don’t do That, Be Careful over Here”, etc. I’ m also wondering , tho’, if there aren’t some times when we need to be prudent and not just naively go forward into something, and maybe to honor that warning voice that says, “Watch Out!”. Would that be a Good Use of Fear……or is that not Really Fear…..??? Any ideas to share??
God is never naive. If we’re listening to God, we’ll hear the voice of wisdom guide us aright. Blindly marching forward or acting out of naivete is not listening to God. It’s listening to self or self-will.
I like to remember when I am fearful of something that fear is really nothing but
f – false
e – evidence
a – appearing
r – real
This puts whatever is Trying to influence thought back to where it belongs. I admit, it is often not easy, but it gives us a basis from which to place our viewpoint and with persistence, we declare that it is not true.
Thank you Evan and commenters today …a wonderful way to start the day!
Thank you Evan for your wonderful post today showing us the importance of expecting the good. It has always helped me to identify when I wasn’t expecting good, to know that I wasn’t relying on God for my supply and guidance.
In response to Bevi…I take the suggestion to watch out or “watch” as Mrs. Eddy states it, as divine wisdom or direction, and I listen!
Evan, thank you for this very important reminder about fear. You alerted me that even a tiny, subtle doubt about God’s care for me and the ability to be healed is a form of fear, a suggestion that there is a slight power in evil. Your “wake-up” call is appreciated as are all your messages you share.
Subconsciously, I believe we do take note of a form of evil entering into our thoughts.
Knowing the Truth about our prayers, the notion of evil disappears, and we are able to go through our healing process.
Thank you so much for this clear, strong reminder that to me says we must be very alert to follow all the way through with our prayers and to mentally act upon the truths we are declaring, and then oh such wonderful results. Thank you so much for these wonderful,and so very helpful daily spiritual views.
Jeanne
Thank you so much for this clear, strong reminder that to me says we must be very alert to follow all the way through with our prayers and to mentally act upon the truths we are declaring, and then oh such wonderful results.
Jeanne
Evan, Very well put but in some ways I still don’t get it. I am dealing with a lot of fear now myself. Health issues that my family think I am ignoring because I don’t seek a medical solution. Fear that I might die. By day I often feel better, calmer and safer. Often the voices in my head simply appear and question my sanity, my faith, my loyalty and obedience. Often I will awake in the night in such pain and consciously wrestle with the very audible voice in my head that wants me to concede that I am separate from God, alone, failing and dying. I will not concede. What I know to be true seems to differ from what I believe to be true, and I don’t know how to align them.
Hi John, The last few words of your comment struck a chord with me. If you had a flat tire on your car and you didn’t know how to fix it, you would naturally “call for help”, wouldn’t you? Whenever I’m faced with a situation in Christian Science that I don’t know how to handle myself, I call a practitioner for help. So I just thought I would lovingly suggest calling a practitioner for help if you have not already done so if you are struggling with how to pray about something. Much love to you my friend…Brian
A friend of mine told me of an experience she had when she feared she was going to die. She went to her Christian Science teacher and relayed all of the symptoms and told her teacher she was worried she would die. She said her teacher looked right at her and said “SO WHAT?” That may sound callous, but my friend told me that she knew her teacher meant it in a loving way and that hearing these words was like a slap in the face (a good slap) and woke her up to the fact that she could never be separated from the love of God, who is Love. My friend ended up being healed of the condition she feared would result in death and went on to become a Christian Science Practitioner and Teacher.
I often think of this story when fearing some condition or event and mentally say “so what?” to the error (i.e. the lie about my true identity) while at the same time I keep knowing that nothing can separate me from God and His goodness and harmony. And even if it appears I’m experiencing some dream of life apart from God, I know that in reality that dream is not true since God is continually holding me in His thinking and therefore I will one day awake from the dream and experience life from the proper standpoint…life as a beloved child of God. It is so wonderful to always hold on to that promise regardless of what we seem to be experiencing.
Thanks, Evan. Your message this morning is so helpful to me.
And thanks to Brian, also, for the sharing of that wonderful thought “so what?” that resulted in such a blessing for the individual you mention.
Bevi wrote that she thought that fear was self tought. Maybe so, but self tought when?, in this life or the one previously? AH! That’s a question never asked. As far as C/S is concerned, there is no birth nor death but life eternal which means forever. Mrs Eddy brings out the fact that if we are seen by others to die, we ourselves wake up with the same ideas and false beliefs. Therefore our previous lives could unfold the fears that we have in this one until we wake up to the fact that our creator never instilled fear, PERIOD!!! Now Bevi, think on that.
My teacher gave his students many thought provoking ideas about fear and I thought I would share two:
1. If you fear something, it’s a sure sign it doesn’t exist.
2. Never pray to be out of danger, for there is no danger to be in or out of.
I’ll add that it really helps to understand WHY what we fear doesn’t exist, or why danger is an impossible state. I also like to replace “out of danger” with “free from X disease”. For there is no X to have or not have.
I also want to add that one of my favorite articles about fear is found in the first Sentinel of July, 2001, written by Howard Johnson, titled Death did not End my Life.
Hope this helps.
Dear Tobias, remember we are taught in Christian Science there is one Mind only because there is one God. So it follows there is one Life only because there is one God. There can not be lives many any more than there can be minds many.
Fear can’t possibly have a locality, identity, or a reality because it is not of God. To me fear is simply a world belief…nothing taught but just in the mental atmosphere of mortal mind, an aggressive mental suggestion, nothing more. And we are taught in Christian Science to guard our mental home against it. “We may well be perplexed at human fear;…But why should we stand aghast at nothingness.” Science and Health with key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy p. 563:4
You are right, we do need to wake up from this dream of life in matter and we can do that NOW. (=
Dear Friends,
Our fears are never about the situation we are dealing with,our fear is always a fear of God. The situation is a drama we have created but our response is an oppertunity to change our mind about our self and God. We think that we have separated ourself from God our Creator. We believe this because we have created scenes which God could never imagine. And then we believe the dramas, they are not real. They are a result of not accepting the only identity God gave us, His Son. Every drama is the prodigal son drama, when we remember Who made us the light of Life fills all space, the bad dream is over. This is why ever fearful experience is an oppertunity to accept our identity from God and be free. Thank you Evan. Love, Donna
Thanks to all for the wonderful thoughts! One adage I love is, worry is being ungrateful to God in advance. Of course you can substitute “fear” for “worry” – same difference!
One thought that keeps me going, after five years of Christian Science study and practice, is the knowledge that healing is inevitable. It’s God’s promise to each one of us. God removes fear as we learn to trust, and the false picture disappears. I’ve made wonderful progress, and had many healings, for which I am so grateful! I still have a ways to go, as I still have aggressive symptoms of pain. And, I do take medicine for it – and will continue to do so until I can consistently realize my oneness with God, at which point I will no longer need to. That too is inevitable!
Dear Ellen,
All pain is the effect of judgement and will leave when judgement is returned to the One who Knows. The Lord’s Prayer is the most effective treatment I have experienced. It begins with accepting God as Father,therefore establishing our true Self. It goes on to establish our reality as heaven, peace filling all space. God’s name is holy, it is our oneness and health for a father shares his name with his son. God’s Kingdom is ever present. God meets our daily needs even in our dreaming for heaven has no needs. We will always forgive because we have accepted forgiveness for our mistakes, and they disappear into nothingness. We will not enter into materialism for it is a false experience, and you have established you Son in Truth. For your Kingdon is real, all power and the song of praise to God is ever in our being. This Truth is for all ages and sealed in faithfulness.
Allow God to establish your reality and you will forever rejoice, for God is the One who knows.
Awesome! Thank you!