Fear, Hope, And Our Identity

Fear, hope and our identity are all connected in ways we may not see at first. We all have fears. Some fears are healthy, such as fear of fire and fear of falling. Other fears are somewhat reasonable because of our past experiences.

Left unchecked, however, fear can take root and make us angry to the point that we say and do stupid things trying to control conditions and people around us in an attempt to make ourselves feel safe. The problem with that is, everyone has free will and their own set of fears. We keep emotionally bumping into each other and it hurts. Lashing out can feel good for a moment, but shortly after our conscious lets us know, there must be a better way.

Another option is trying to hide from everyone so we don’t have to deal with reality. That can get really lonely. It often feeds a spiral deeper into despair.

Hope is the opposite of despair as well as the antidote. Love is the opposite of fear and the antidote to fear.

Unfortunately, hope and love can seem elusive at times. The Bible, however, points us to the unending supply of hope and love. “Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone.” PS 33:22.  “I cried out, “I am slipping!”  but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.” PS 94:18-19

If we put our hope in our ability to fix whatever we are afraid of we will surely not succeed, at least not for long. When we tap into the unfailing love of our creator, that is where our identity comes in. The word of God tells us we are children of God, chosen and infinitely loved. We are also priests and kings so we have the power and authority to act in agreement with the will of the one who made and calls us.

If we think we are the source of our protection and supply, we will be fearful with despair never far away. But when we understand we are chosen by the Creator of All things we have a higher power who gives us rock solid footing to base our hope on. Jesus said; “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:16-17

When we grasp who we are in our Creator is when we have power over fear. We ask and he will take fear away. “The name of the Lord is strong tower, the righteous run into it and are safe.” Prov. 18:10 When we hide ourselves in these truths we are safe and we have an unfailing supply of God’s love to share with others.

These days there seems to be a lot of people who have fear and a lack of hope. Yours may be real, personal issues of health, responsibilities which are a challenge to meet, relationships and more that cloud the view of the source of sure hope and love. If we listen to the news for long these days it is possible to get sucked into new levels of fear, anger and despair as we watch others spew out their fears and anger. We do not have to own or absorb other peoples emotions. When we know who we are and whose we are as well as what that means, then we have hope and the fear fades.

Regardless of the source of your fear or despair, where do you want to focus? If you need to shift from circumstances to God, try meditating on the following.