Facing the Dark Waves

I have a terrible fear of the dark. Not the girlish-squeal-when-the-lights-go-out fear. It's that suffocating feeling of uncontrollable panic when I can't see where I am or what's going on. It's even worse when I'm alone. So going to a country where I live by myself and the electricity goes off almost every day can pose it's challenges for me!
A few nights ago, I was staying by myself. As I turned the lights out in the house, that fear began to creep over me. I heard every noise in the house that night, imagining all sorts of scary reasons behind every noise that I heard and becoming more and more panicked by each one. It was then that the Lord brought the story of Peter walking on the water to my mind. Peter began to sink under the waves when he looked down at the waves. It wasn't just the fact that he looked at the waves but that his mind became filled with fear instead of trust. I realized when I focused my mind completely on the Lord, those feelings diminished- not disappeared, but became smaller.
Some people say, "When you're afraid, just trust the Lord more. He'll take away your fears." I have found that every time I am faced with this fear, it's a chance for me to really have to focus completely on Christ with absolute concentration. And every time, I find sweet communion with my Lord. I know the Lord has the power to take away this fear. And I've asked Him many times. But He hasn't so far. And I ask myself, is it better for me to face this fear and focus on Christ as I fall asleep, or is it better for all that fear to be gone? I love the fact that the Lord has given me a challenge, this fear, that hones me and draws me to Him, and even though He loves me and protects me, He has left this fear in place to mold me into the person He wants me to be! What a wonderful Lord I have!