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SUMMER 2012
3
Be not afraid
D
r Ed Welch is Adjunct
Professor of Practical Theology
at Westminster Theological
Seminary WTS, and faculty at the
Christian Counseling and Educational
Foundation CCEF, both in
Philadelphia, USA. He has worked as a
research associate in electrophysiology
and holds graduate degrees in theology
and psychology including a PhD in
psychology. He has been with
Westminster and the CCEF since 1981.
Dr Welch has written several books,
including
The Counselor’s Guide to the
Brain and its Disorders; Addictive
Behavior; Blame it on the Brain; When
People are Big and God is Small;
Depression: A Stubborn Darkness;
and
Running Scared: Fear, Worry and the
God of Rest.
He is also a frequent contributor to the
Journal of Biblical Counseling
where he
has written on such diverse subjects as
suffering, depression, attention deficit
disorder, multiple personality disorder
and the use of Scripture in counseling.
His short essays appear weekly at ccef.org.
He has recently served as an adjunct
faculty member of the PTC Victoria.
Ed, everyone experiences fear but what
is it that makes us fearful?
The experience of being afraid usually
arises out of our concerns about the
future. We anticipate that something
difficult, or even catastrophic, is going
to happen to something or someone we
love. And why do we think so? Well,
bad things do happen, and sometimes
those things can be
really
bad. And
since there is a possibility that those
bad things could happen to us, we
become afraid and anxious.
We use a variety of terms to describe
our sense of unease about difficult
situations in the present or future. Are
these terms meant to reveal the
intensity of our disquiet about what is
happening or could happen to us?
I think that’s certainly part of it, but
when it comes to the “fear” family of
words, almost everything is intense.
Sometimes there might be a distinction
between whether or not the dreaded
event is present or future. The word
“fear” can be used when we are in it;
anxiety usually suggests that the event is
somewhere off in the future. But in our
everyday language most of the like-
minded words, such as panic, identify
powerful experiences.
One element to fear or anxiety that we
often miss is that it is interpersonal. It’s
one thing for bad things to happen. It
is another to be
alone
when there are
bad things. Fear is a very relational
phenomenon. Our fears are intensified
when we’re alone. Fear is a lot easier to
face when we have others with us. I
think we have all had experiences where
we have been in strange and dark
surroundings that have left us on edge.
It’s amazing in a situation like this how
the presence of another person – or
even a pet – can temporarily assuage
our most stubborn fears. This takes us
right to the very heart of Scripture and
the promise of God’s presence.
So I think fear feeds on two things in
particular: first, the knowledge that bad
things can happen to us and, second,
that we might have to face this
situation alone. For many of us the
most terrible aspect of fear is that we
feel so alone in facing it. There is a
woman at our church who was
overwhelmed with fears, and when she
Fear affects everyone, but God has answers.
Ed Welch talks to Peter Hastie
Fears are a good
opportunity to say,
‘Lord, search me.
Are there things
I’m trusting in
more than You?’
was asked, “What are you afraid of?”
she said, “I am afraid I will die alone.”
She’s a single woman with few friends,
so we said to her, “If we live longer than
you, we will make sure you do not die
alone.” That was the last time she
mentioned her fear.
When people don’t know Christ that
sense of isolation often accentuates
their fears. The writer to the Hebrews
talks about the fear of death that resides
in every heart. He also mentions faint
echoes of judgment that haunt us too.
So I think we can say that we all
struggle with fears, believers and
unbelievers alike, but some of our fears
are intensified by an underlying sense
of isolation and fear of death.
Is there anything unnatural or sinful
about being scared?
The first issue in dealing with fear is
not, “Is it sinful?” Rather it is: “To
whom will I turn when I am afraid?”
I’m thinking here of Psalm 56 where
the Psalmist says, “
When
I’m afraid…”
I think the psalmist is saying, “I am a
human being and I constantly experience
bad things that make me afraid.
Nevertheless, when fears come upon me
I will turn to the Lord.” I think that’s
where the emphasis lies in Scripture:
not on the feelings of fear, but on
where we turn when we have fears.
The other thing I would add is that
fears are just a good opportunity to say,
“Lord, search me. Are there things I’m
trusting in, or are there things that I
love more than You?” Fear tends to
identify our loves – we’re afraid we’re
going to lose something that’s very
precious to us. So whenever we are
afraid we can search our hearts. Do I
love somebody or something else more
than God? In this sense, fear is not
sinful but it is a perfect occasion to
consider critical spiritual matters.
Does Scripture give us any hope that