Why Should Christians Hope?
I said last week when I gave up worrying last Lent that I didn’t think to put something in it’s place. I know now I need to hope.
In The Case For Hope, author Lee Strobel states the Bible mentions hope 97 times in the Old Testament and “83 in the New Testament”. It’s clear God expects his people to be hopeful. Why? Because He is the ultimate hope. Hoping in Him give us perfect love, complete forgiveness of our sins, and the joy of living with Him forever. And in Jesus we have the example of what a person can be in a relationship with God. We can’t be perfect like Jesus, but we have the hope God will change us to be more and more like His son.
So why do I have such a hard time hoping?
I think it’s a combination of physical wiring and and mental habit. In the next week, I will try to rein in my my wild worries with a few strategies. My focus will be Hebrews 13:6 “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” I will also do try the following:
Imagine a positive outcome for a negative one. I need to break my automatic response of imagining the worse. That’s helpful when plotting fiction, but it’s a lousy way to live my life.
Become objective. When I consider my worries, I will judge how likely they are to become reality, based on my past experiences.
I am reminded of a quote attributed to Mark Twain, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”
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