Fear vs. Hope
“The only thing more powerful than fear is hope.” (President Snow in The Hunger Games)
There was a time in my life when fear controlled me. Fear over what others thought. Fear of failure. Then hope took over.
Hope: to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence; to believe, desire, or trust.
Hope that what the Bible said about Jesus was true.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:3-6)
Hope that he would bring me out of the pit.
“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40:1-3)
Hope that flourished as I returned again and again to grace and let God work in my life for his glory.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:1-15)
When I struggle still today and feel the pull of the pit, I remember the hope that saved me years ago. Hope always returns and encourages me.
Confident Hope
Hope has a forward focus. It is remembering what I have been through only to remember again what God has done for me. This refocuses me on what he’s going to do in my life in places, people, and events where hope seems dim or even absent.
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
