Fear does not have the last word

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

HUMAN beings are wired to feel fear. We fear danger, uncertainty, loss, illness, failure, and the vast territory of things we do not understand. Fear is not a defect; it is an ancient alarm system, a built-in response that warns us when we perceive a threat. Sometimes it protects us. Sometimes it merely exposes our vulnerability.

Because we live in a world crowded with risks, surprises, and mysteries, fear will surface again and again. At times it can even swell into panic. The real challenge, however, is not how to avoid fear altogether. It is how to keep fear from taking command.

A raw emotion, left unexamined, can become a tyrant. Fear that remains at the level of instinct or reflex often magnifies the very danger it seeks to escape. Instead of protecting us, it can paralyze judgment, distort perception, and erode hope. That is why fear must be processed, disciplined, and guided. Reason should examine it; faith should illuminate it.

Classical philosophy and Christian thought agree on a crucial point: the emotions are not meant to rule the person. They are powerful energies, but they require formation. An educated fear knows when to warn and when to yield. An uneducated fear appears when it should not, disappears when it should not, and constantly exaggerates the shadows.

To handle fear well, we must cultivate an interior life strong enough to govern our reactions. Faith is not the denial of danger; it is the refusal to believe that danger is the ultimate reality. It trains the intellect, steadies the will, purifies the imagination, and keeps memory from becoming a warehouse of anxieties. In theological terms, grace does not erase our humanity; it orders and elevates it.

We are not merely bodies reacting to stimuli. We are a union of body and soul, capable of transcending immediate circumstances. If we reduce life to the material and the temporary, fear easily becomes our master because everything appears fragile and perishable. But if we recognize that human life also has a spiritual and supernatural horizon, then fear loses its absolute power.

Faith widens the frame. It reminds us that reality is larger than what we can measure, predict, or control. It frees us from total dependence on earthly factors and places us under a higher wisdom. The believer is not exempt from storms; he simply learns that the storm is not the final word.

So, what should we do when fear strikes?

Go to God immediately.

Not after panic has exhausted us. Not after every human strategy has failed. God first. God already knows the questions we cannot formulate and the wounds we do not yet recognize. Prayer is not an escape from reality; it is a return to the deepest reality. In that encounter, we often receive clarity, practical direction, unexpected peace, and the courage to take the next step.

The Gospel repeatedly returns to this theme. Christ never promised a trouble-free life. He promised His presence within it. “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). Those words are not sentimental consolation; they are a declaration of victory.

When the disciples trembled at the sight of Jesus walking on the water, He answered with a command that still speaks to every anxious heart: “Fear not, it is I.” The Christian response to fear is not bravado. It is trust. Fear may knock at the door, but faith decides who gets to stay in the house.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com