Turning from Fears and Failures to Hope

Read: Psalm 147:11 (NIV)

The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Reflect:

Fear of the Lord is a loaded statement. If God is a loving God, why does He want us to be fearful? Well, simply stated, He wants us to fear Him so we save ourselves from succumbing to sinful ways. Yet this is only half of the equation, because as humans are wont to do, we sometimes misplace our hope in the things of this world. When we do this, we are destined for disappointment because we miss the second part of this verse: that we must put our hope in His unfailing love. People and worldly objects fail us because no matter how much they claim to love us, they will never show us mercy or grace the way the Lord does.

In some seasons of my life, and especially during the holidays, I allowed the promise of God’s love to slip into the far reaches of my brain. In those times, it was easy to feel like a failure because my hope was placed in the things of this world. Did I buy the right present? Am I thin enough to fit into this dress? Are my kids good enough? Is my house clean enough?

If I had focused more on placing my hope in the Lord and bringing Him delight through my fear of Him, I would have had peace in those stressful moments instead of gripping fear and self-doubt that I wasn’t good enough. Through mindful prayer and steady trust, the promise of hope returns. Now, I have an almost automatic response to stress and fear to pray to God that He will lift the burdens from me and allow me to let go of my misplaced hopes in the things of this world. Through prayer, I am reminded of His grace and mercy, and my hope is restored.

Act:

When you feel hopeless, when you feel gripped by fear or failure, or when you feel like nothing can alleviate the stress you’re under, remember that God loves you and wants you to remember his promise. His mercy is yours. His grace is yours. Pray for God to restore your hope in Him the moment you start to feel self-doubt. Do not allow your hope to be misplaced in the things of this world, but ask God to help you focus on His unfailing love.

Pray:

Heavenly Father, I come to You with a humble heart and an awareness of your awesomeness. I ask that You restore my hope in You so that I may bring You joy. I ask that you help me to remove my hope from anything this world has to offer and from my fellow man and to place it solely in the promise of Your love, grace, and mercy. Amen.

Lori Hinkley