Fears and HOPE

Fear. It isn't a stranger to me. It probably isn't to you either. I know today many are filled with fear that the presidential candidate of their choice will not be elected. Sometimes fear is debilitating. It can cause us to become sucked into a downward spiral of emotions, leaving us feeling drained, depressed, scared, and sometimes hopeless.


I wanted to write about hope today. Although I do have strong convictions about various issues, I have made it through this election year without a lot of fear in the end result. That isn't to say, however, that I have made it through this year without a glimpse of fear to plague my heart. At various times in my life fear has been a real and monstrous problem for me. I have been afraid that we wouldn't make enough money to live as comfortably as I'd like. I've been afraid that we would have to move when I didn't want to move. I think the biggest fear has been that one of my family members, specifically my children, would suffer pain. Or then there's the new one; that I would die at a young age and leave my children without a mother. Sometimes my fears have brought me to the point of lying in bed, late at night, my body stiff with anxiety, my mind numb and blurred from worry.


Thankfully, that isn't where my story stops. Every time I have found myself wracked with fear, I have heard a gentle voice speaking hope. I believe in a God who holds this world in his hands. A God who is never taken by surprise, even though I may be. My God can, and does work all things together for good, even when I may hate a particular situation, and want out of it in the worst way. Each time He has whispered to me, "Trust me. Take hope in my everlasting love. I will never leave you or forsake you." Each time His words have held true. Each time He has taken the frayed pieces of my life as I have seen it, and woven together a better situation than I could have imagined. But that's what I should expect. He can see and understand things that we can not. I am learning to trust Him more and more. I am learning to have hope even when I don't know how things are going to work out. I am also learning that my hope is not found in living in a certain house or town. My hope is not even found in health or long life or a certain president. My hope is found in Christ alone. He has saved me and I know that I am His, regardless of what might happen on this earth.
My earnest prayer is that all of you have the same hope to bring you through any fears or hard situations you may face.
(A couple more things... I wanted to include a quote from a man whose child is suffering from Leukemia, as he is facing the possibility of the very thing that I have feared. He has hope. It makes a difference. If you want to read it, see below. I've also included a link to a video that is fitting to my theme. Thanks.)

*video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8welVgKX8Qo

*From Brent Riggs:
Thirty percent. That number haunts me.
That’s the percentage chance that my daughter will die from Leukemia. Almost a one out three chance. Originally, her prognosis was in the 90% range but the high risk complications have put her in a different range.
“Oh, but look at the bright side, there’s a 70% chance she’ll live.”
“You just need to have faith and trust God.”
“Think positive thoughts, don’t have a negative confession.”
“God has a plan, His best is ahead for you.”
“Just be thankful for the time you still have with her.”
“I know it’s hard but time will heal.”
Well thanks for clearing that up for me. I don’t doubt the well meaning sincerity of folks who make such statements, but it most likely betrays a lack of life experience with tragedy and loss.
My wife and I don’t hide from the reality that Abby might die. We don’t avoid the issue fearing a “negative confession” will somehow be the catalyst for God saying “well, you didn’t have enough faith, so I’m just not going to have to let her die.”
Friends, if God could be forced to heal someone by the sheer number of faithful prayers, Abby would have been miraculously healed long before now. We miss the real blessing by that kind of thinking. There are literally THOUSANDS of people all over the world praying for her, praying for us. The REAL blessing of Abby’s ordeal is the number of people who have been uplifted by her story, who have turned to God in prayer, who have shown the love of Christ by serving and caring… and most importantly by the countless numbers of unsaved folks who have seen a real God in the real lives of real people show real love. That has a real impact on those who don’t really know God.
Openly facing the very real possibility of Abby’s death is NOT tantamount to giving up, losing heart or lacking faith. Every person in human history has either died, or will die. It is a fact of our existence. God numbers the days of each person, and just as He breathed in the breath of life, He determines when that breath will end. It is not our place to question it, make some futile attempt to derail it, or engage in some shallow positive thinking while crossing our fingers behind our back.
Like Job, in the Bible, we are to thank God for what He gives, and bless Him for what He takes back. My wife, with one comment the other day, showed more grasp on this than anyone I know. Now keep in mind, this is a mother, speaking about her daughter, whom she spent all her time, emotions and resources adopting just a couple of years ago:
“I know Abby might die. The worse we have to face is that she will go and be with God for a while, and we will see her again soon. I just want to enjoy her as much as I can now in case we have to say goodbye.”
Compare that statement to the empty list of platitudes above. Which has the real comfort? Which has the real eternal perspective? Which has the real faith? Which is real?
What heartache or tragedy are you facing today? Do you see the foundational truth in my wife’s statement? The underlying principle is “temporary” versus “eternal”. If you know God, then whatever suffering, loss or pain you are experiencing right now IS TEMPORARY. It is “for a little while” then God will make all things new, all things well, and all things restored.
There is a 30% chance our daughter will die. It is reality. We don’t act like it isn’t. We don’t avoid it any more than we avoid taking heart in her 70% chance of recovery. They both matter. Both possibilities are… well, they are possibilities. We don’t try to paint a pretty face on a tough situation. Even more real though is that we will spend all eternity with Abby, in God’s presence, cancer-free, regardless of what happens in this vapor of life. That’s where the joy and thankfulness springs from.
There’s a 100% chance that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us in our darkest hours. It is that 100% chance that allows us to embrace the present trials with hope and certainty. THAT is reality.
So with King David we say, “…and yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”. The Lord is our Shepherd. The Lord is Abby’s Shepherd.
I’m 100% sure of that. ~ Brent (see http://www.brentriggs.com/?ItemID=305) or http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/