Hope For Today "Fear"

When we allow ourselves to be dominated by fear – fear of guilt, fear of embarrassment, fear of loneliness, fear of being overwhelmed – we are engaging in stinking thinking. How can we move beyond this?

At various times in our lives we’ve known feelings of chaos, dread, fear, and even panic.  It’s so common particularly when we feel out of control.  We don’t know what to do or where to turn. Thankfully, because we live with God, we have someone who is near and available to give us the help and comfort we need when difficult circumstances arise.

We were created to live securely by living in the care of God – the God who loves us perfectly, weaknesses and all, and yet we’ve all been in stressful or frightening situations where the “fight or flight” response has been activated in us. What does Jesus have to say to us in these kinds of situations?

We don’t often hear that word “fret” anymore. It was much more known in my grandparents and parents generation. But the anger and anxiety, the obsessing over a problem or something we don’t like  - that “fretting” - is very much a part of our generation and our time. What can we do about it?

What are you afraid of today?  What kinds of things easily make us fearful?  What can we do so our emotions and behaviour choices are not controlled by our fears?  God keeps it simple for us.

When Thomas was told that they had seen Jesus, he doubted that it was true. He was afraid to hope again.  Too many surprises.  Too much information.  Thomas just couldn’t deal with any more. Like Thomas, some of us have known the discouragement of hopes dashed and opportunities lost.  In our broken fearful lives, we doubt the presence of a loving caring God with us to help.