Today we begin our journey  of blogging through Edward Welch’s book Running Scared.  Click here if you want to see what this is all about or the schedule for reading/posting on this book.

When I was a small child (somewhere between the ages of three and six), I used to imagine that there was a witch that brewed here mischievous brew between the two windows of my bedroom.  In my imagination, she was there and not to be trifled with.  And so, Welch says:  “Fear is natural to us.  We don’t have to learn it.  We experience fear and anxiety even before there is any logical reason for them.”  Fear does not just follow us, but fear actually multiplies as we grow older.  As we develop more relationships, see more of the fallenness of the world, or accumulate more things we have more to fear, more to worry about.

But what do our fears, worries, and anxieties say to us or about us?  Welch’s exploration of this question is what I found so helpful in these first four chapters that make up the first section, “Initial Observations”.  Just think about all of the ways that fear manifests itself in our lives (these are from chapter two):

  • background fear and anxiety
  • phobias (e.g. arachibutyrophobia – the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth)
  • dreams
  • physical clues (what are our bodies telling us?)
  • stress
  • busy and driven
  • depression
  • anger
  • overprotection
  • superstitions

And if we then see these in ourselves, what does that fear say?  I suppose it depends on the fear and the way it manifests in our life, but I find after reading these first four chapters, I want more.  That is, since Welch has made so clear the reality of fear (for all of us), what is the good news?  But first, here is this thought from chapter three:  “Here is where fear is a door to spiritual reality.  It suggests that authentic humaness was never intended to be autonomous and self-reliant.  Humans are needy by design.”

But even more importantly the questions are the two questions at the end of chapter three that hang out there for us, challenging us both with our needs and our idols:

  • What do these fears say I trust in?
  • What do my fears say I love?

In conclusion, I appreciate that Welch drives us inward to see where are fears lie and to listen to them, but he wouldn’t have us stay there.  “After you listen to your own heart, listen to God.” That’s what I long to hear – words from God, for my fears (and my worries).

What resonated with you from these chapters?