I may be overstating this, but nobody likes to go to the dentist.
It’s a wonder I will even go to the dentist the way my dentist from ages 2 to 18 never used Novocaine! And I had a LOT of fillings.
I’m sure he worked for the Gestapo during “The Big War.” I’m amazed he didn’t star in “Marathon Man,” the movie that famously had Sir Laurence Olivier playing a Nazi torturer drilling into the molars of Dustin Hoffman’s character.
My dentist of adult years sighed when he told me he could tell if that movie had been on recently because everybody white-knuckled his armrests even during routine checkups.
That’s why practices like “The Dental Fears Clinics” sprang up, staffed with dentists also trained in psychiatry and trauma. I would have traveled a long way to be treated in one of those.
Anxiety is a cousin to fear. Nearly 20% of American adults experience anxiety disorders in the United States each year. Among teenagers, it’s 32%.
These are such basic, commonly felt emotions. That’s why God assured us there are many reasons not to be anxious or afraid. But since God made us, He also knows feelings can’t just be turned off by flipping a switch.
A popular quote in the Bible tells us to “Fear not!” 365 times, one for each day. It may be that high depending on the translation and if you count related assurances like “don’t be afraid” and “take courage.” But instead of reaching for the switch, we just need to remember the promise that so often follows “fear not.”
It is: “For I will be with you.”
In almost every trauma the effects are buffered if someone is with us. Experts credit toddler Jessica McClure’s survival when she fell into a narrow well in 1987 in Midland, Texas, to EMT Robert O’Donnell. It was his tiny frame that was able to get close to her in that 18-inch shaft. He coaxed and counseled life back into the terrified toddler. Sadly, he succumbed to suicide not long after, illustrating the need to make sure first responders’ mental health is cared for.
The better we know that person who comes alongside us, the less the severity of the fear and the fallout from it.
So, the challenge here is to deepen our love relationship with our Heavenly Father. The Bible promises all sorts of benefits of knowing and loving Him. Just one blessing may be that we won’t have to search far and wide for a therapist who doubles as a dentist.
Rick Sams is pastor emeritus of Alliance Friends Church.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: No fear! Our beliefs can help overcome any worries | Bright Spot
Reporting by Pastor Rick Sams, Special to The Alliance Review / The Alliance Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Pastor Rick Sams, Special to The Alliance Review | USA TODAY Network
