Afraid of Fear
He knows it’s a dangerous task. Only his daughter can do it. She’s scared. And he can’t do it for her.
“Don’t be afraid to be afraid. We will try to have courage for you.”
The daughter is Meg Murry from the novel, A Wrinkle in Time. Speaking is her dad, Mr. Murray. Only Meg can return to the planet Camazotz and through love, bring back her brother Charles Wallace.
Don’t we want to avoid fear? Maybe we can embrace fun fear (roller coaster rides or mystery movies). But not real fear.
Security or Fear?
Given the choice between security or fear, I’ll naturally choose security.
But God doesn’t always give us the choice between security or fear. Nor is security always the choice he wants us to take anyway.
Sometimes we have to do scary things.
In the Afterword of A Wrinkle in Time, 50thAnniversary Edition, author Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter, Charlotte Jones Voiklis, comments on the book and her grandmother:
“But a planet can also become dark because of ‘too strong a desire for security…the greatest evil there is.’”
I don’t know that it’s the greatest evil, but an unhealthy desire for security is often our idol, a toxic poison that stunts our growth.
The granddaughter follows with this:
“Meg resists her father’s analysis. What’s wrong with wanting to be safe? Mr. Murry insists that ‘lust for security’ forces false choices and a panicked search for safety and conformity.
“This reminded me that my grandmother would get very annoyed when anyone would talk about ‘the power of love.’ Love, she insisted, is not power, which she considered always coercive. To love is to be vulnerable; and it is only in vulnerability and risk—not safety and security—that we overcome darkness.”
Do It Afraid
If you’ve read A Wrinkle in Time, you know that Meg does return to Camazotz. Even with fear. But armed with love.
God knows we have dangerous tasks, too. Some of which only his daughters can do. Even if we’re scared. And he can’t do them for us.
God doesn’t want us to live in fear. He sends us this message over and again, “Do not be afraid.”
But until we outgrow our fear, I also think God tells us the same words that Mr. Murry told Meg:
“Don’t be afraid to be afraid. We will have courage for you.”
God holds courage for us, when we don’t feel big enough to contain it ourselves. It’s a mystery we can’t explain. It comes from his love.
- To love is to walk into the unknown.
- To love is to defy daring.
- To love is to not be afraid to be afraid.
Perhaps the courage to love is the greatest mystery—and miracle—of all.
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I’ve been re-reading A Wrinkle in Time before I see the (relatively) new movie. Have you read the book? Seen the movie? Please share in the comments.
Mystery is my One Word for 2018. Read more mysterious things here.
