Hope and Fear

The apostle Paul was dedicated to showing people that they indeed could come to know the Savior, to discover the will of God, to seeing and knowing God as He is. In Colossians 1, he is speaking about God's people, the saints of God, and writes:
27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

We can have hope in the Lord.  That's more than just possessing good feelings or having happy thoughts.  Biblical hope reminds us that we have Someone who is near to us, who gives us inner strength and peace to face the challenges of life.  When we are afraid, we can release the resources of heaven; when we are weak, we know, as Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians, the grace that is sufficient for us. Hope helps us to be courageous as we face the future.

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By the Holy Spirit, we find a source of hope and strength in the midst of our fears. Romans chapter 15 states this:
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

God created us with a great deal of complexity - not only are we spiritual beings, who have the capacity to enter into a relationship with the God of the universe, but conversely, we can choose to follow other spiritual paths that do not lead to Jesus.  We also have our mental capabilities, and certainly we possess a wide range of emotions.

A new Lifeway Research survey examined a number of different emotions and asked respondents which one they wanted to avoid the most.  The winner in this survey: fear. 4-out-of-10 indicated they wanted to avoid that emotion, with shame, at 24%, and guilt, at 22, trailing far behind.  Five years ago, a study showed that shame was the emotion that respondents most wanted to avoid, at 38%.

No doubt, things have changed. Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, says: “For many Americans, circumstances in 2020 led to an increased focus on their fears,” adding, "Many feared getting COVID; others feared social unrest during protests; and politicians played on people’s fears in ads and speeches.”

Interestingly enough, "adherents of non-Christian religions" had the highest percentage wishing to avoid fear - at 57%. 

The survey also measured where people looked for hope.  40% of respondents cited the kindness of other people, while 38% found hope in their relationships.  Religious faith garnered 36% of responses. 

There were several other parts of the survey reported in the survey summary.  When asked what they desired most in life, 36% said "personal freedom, " while 32% cited "a desire to overcome."

8-in-10 Americans indicated that they would be most satisfied by "doing the right thing," yet 46% of respondents would rather eliminate anxiety from their lives than "wrongdoing," which was indicated by 32%.

We know what to do when we encounter fear.  The Bible is replete with verses that assure us that the power of God is available when we are afraid.  Fear is a very real emotion and can be a tangible presence, and we can combat it with the weapons of our warfare.

We should not allow fear to dissuade us from pursuing the will of God in our lives.  The fear of failure, of rejection, of what other people may do or say to us - none of these concerns should hold us back from doing what God has called us to do. 

And, we have to look for true hope in the right place.  More people in this survey looked for hope in human relationships rather than faith.  True, we can be built up by our interactions with others; yet, we can look to Christ to sustain us - not necessarily to give us ease and comfort all the time, but to give us peace when our world is in crisis.