Anxiety and Fear of the Future

“The Lord is there to RESCUE ALL who are discouraged and have given up hope” (Psalm 34:18).

In this past year, we have emphasized hope in our personal lives more than ever.  We understand the magnitude of power that hope has when it comes to recreating our circumstances, and giving us God’s perspective.

Each day, for this next week, Every Day Hope is going to strategically tackle one of the “weights” that keeps us from living above the hope line, specifically anxiety and fear of the future.  As you participate with each post by mediating on the scriptures and actively applying truth to your life, you have the potential to get to a whole new level of joyful anticipation for the future.

When choosing the subject for this next week, Bob wasn’t sure people would need encouragement in the area of fearing the future.  I was quite surprised, because for me (personally) fear of the future has been one of the biggest obstacles to enjoying limitless living.  Even though I had dreams for my days ahead, lies arose quickly to snatch away the hopeful thoughts.  I know I’m not alone!  Others have confided in me…identifying lies like:

*That will never work

*Why bother trying

*You’ll never get better

*You’re not good enough

*Your family isn’t fixable

and a whole bunch more that I’m not even going to give attention to, but a lot of you know exactly what I’m talking about!

In this last year, Bob and I have been planning and preparing to change the methods in which we communicate to keep up with our progressing society, and expand our reach to a younger audience and young families. But I’m going to be honest, I have had to tackle the fears of the unknown.  Change can be scary!  I’m sure you can attest to this in your own life! Fear of failure (things not working as you had hoped) and fear of lack (not having enough) seems to have a loud voice.

The fear is always connected to a lie that we believe in our heart.  That lie is there because of a past experience, or because of something has been said or done to us.  Or maybe it’s there because of an onslaught of messages promoting doom and gloom.  However the lie got there, identifying it is the first step.  The next step?  Replace it with the truth.  A statement based on the goodness of God’s character and nature, and on the promises of God found in scripture.  About six months ago, I knew I had to be adamant about conquering fear of the future, so I asked God for a declaration that I could write on my heart, and mediate throughout my entire day.  And then the next day…on and on until the weeks turned into months. Now the statement rolls off my tongue as easy as my name:

“I laugh in the unknown and I thrive in uncertainty”.

I made a little card with emoji stickers and a marker, and taped it to my refrigerator.  I sung the words, prayed the words, visualized the words…and you know it’s not just “words”…I am choosing for God’s truth and reality to become truly mine.  I do not have to live with fear of the future for one more day.

Today is my day to believe:

Because I am deeply loved by my Father, I can walk straight into the unknown with confidence, holding His hand and facing every obstacle.  Because He is my protector and His joy is my strength, I can actually laugh!  Even when circumstances look uncertain, I can thrive in the wisdom of God to help me make strategic decisions from the place of peace.   

Join us every day this week during Every Day Hope.  Bob is very excited about posting some important truths that God has showed him in regards to this, and tomorrow we will create a video – this is a great way for us to pray with you.

Back to the scripture at the top of this page: If the Lord is there to rescue ALL, that definitely includes you.    

With Much Love and Hope,

Audrey