Though most people may not be able to articulate a clear definition of fear, everyone has experienced it. Fear is a common experience of humanity, from the cradle to the grave. It is said that everyone is born into the world with two kinds of fear : the fear of falling and the fear of loud noise. Fear became a part of the human race immediately after the Fall : “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”” (Gen 3:9-10). In fact,  fear is the first recorded negative emotion man had after the Fall.
    The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines fear as, “The bad feeling that you have when you are in danger, when something bad might happen, or when a particular thing frightens you.” Fear has the following synonyms, none of which is God’s will for you : terror, panic, alarm, anxiety, dread, worry etc. They are all words for the bad feeling you have when you are afraid. The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines fear as, “The feeling that one has when danger is near.” And a further definition of fear is that it is “an unpleasant feeling triggered by the perception of danger, real or imagined.” An important thing to note here is that fear can be aroused, not only by the presence of real danger, but also by an imaginary danger.
    Fear is real. It has been a part of human experience from time immemorial.
Fear is not an imaginary concept that somehow found its way into human vocabulary. It is an earthly reality. Adam and Eve experienced it shortly after eating the forbidden fruit. Since then mankind has been keenly aware of fear as a reality of human existence. To deny the reality or existence of fear is to deny one of Satan’s greatest weapons against mankind, which he has deployed with considerable success. Many of the actions people have taken in  history have been based on fear. For instance, Abraham lied about the nature of his relationship with his wife because he was afraid of what the inhabitants of the land where he sojourned might do to him (Gen 12:11-13). It was also fear that led him to Egypt when there was famine in Canaan.
    Isaac, Abraham’s son, followed his father’s example when he introduced Rebecca as his sister, instead of his wife. Elijah is another example. He won a decisive victory over Baal and his prophets in a daring confrontation on Mount Carmel. Shortly after that, he prayed down the rains, which ended a long period of drought in Israel (1Ki 18:20-46). What else could have been more fulfilling? However, his joy at the likely extermination of Baal worship in Israel was shortlived, because of Jezebel’s threat to him. “Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.” (1Ki 19:2-3). 
    Fear by its nature is stupefying, paralysing and overwhelming, even though, more often than not, it is unjustified. How does one explain the fact that Elijah fled from a woman whose husband (the king), god and prophets he had soundly defeated. Well, that is how fear works. Elijah was not thinking properly. That led to the paralysing feeling of helplessness that overwhelmed him. Though Elijah’s fears were palpable (he really felt them), they were unjustified. It was evident in the way God responded  to him : “And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1Ki 19:9). Fear is just as real as Satan (its originator) is real. Shalom.