ANXIOUSLY HOPEFUL
Have you ever heard of this term before? I had not until I looked it up?
But do you think you might have experienced it? I know that I certainly have!
At first blush, it sounds like an oxymoron, but two different things can both be true at the same time.
Bittersweet, Jumbo Shrimp, and Anxiously Hopeful, are all true.
Being anxiously hopeful is a real set of emotions that many people can relate to.
Here’s another way to look at it; Eager Anticipation with Nervous Doubt.
These are common feelings to experience when you are awaiting an unknown outcome. It is a very common thing to try and balance your emotions during these times. You can have a deep desire for a positive outcome and also be fearful of potential disappointment. I picture some of you shaking your heads in agreement with me on this.
Both sides of this emotion are true.
On the Hope Side you’re trying to focus on being positive and not allowing negativity to rule your thoughts. You try to be Faith Centric; knowing that everything has a purpose, a season, and a time, and you must allow things to play themselves out. Your Hope is in Your Faith, and Your Faith is Your Hope.
On the Anxiety Side you know that you don’t know the future. It is possible for things to work out eventually, but not when you expect them to. So, you tell yourself to also prepare for disappointment in the event the timing doesn’t line up with your expectations. All in Gods time.
We should acknowledge that both emotions are real and true!
“I believe, but help my unbelief” Mark 9:24
The context of this text is that a father had a child with mental health issues, so he brought him to Jesus’ disciples so they could heal him, but they could not. Jesus said “all things are possible to them who believe”
Jesus heard the man’s response and affirmed it by healing his son.
Feeling the emotions that God gave you is not sinful. Let me say that again, Feeling the emotions that God gave you is not sinful!
It’s what we do with those feelings that can land us in trouble.
The challenge with Feelings is, they are Completely Real, but they are also based in an Incomplete Reality. There’s more to the story than what we feel.
Help mine unbelief is actually saying help me in the areas where I can’t see and don’t know! We all have blind spots, God understands that.
Feelings don’t take into account that you don’t know everything at the point in time in which you feel them. Feelings just feel, they don’t think.
Feeling don’t have a brain, but yet they can dictate thoughts.
Feelings are important and needed for sensory based experiences.
Like when we touch a hot stove you need to feel it! If you wait until your brain thinks of what you are doing, you might burn your hand off, because our mind is considering a thousand different things at once.
Some try to think of what you feel as opposed to feeling what you feel.
Notice that both hope and anxiety are future-oriented.
We should focus our attention on the present moment. I heard someone say it this way; Be where your feet are!
Don’t allow your mind to wander. Bring your attention back to things within your control. You cant control what you feel, only what you do.
Another thing that can also be helpful during these times is to remember other times when things worked out. This isn’t your first rodeo. You have been through hard times before and come out victorious.
Dr. Fredick KC Price said it best; Feed your Faith and starve your Doubts to Death! He was truly a great man of God.
Many psychological journals are also reporting that the presence of hope reduces anxiety. Science usually comes around to confirming what God has already known.
Ultimately our fight against anxiety comes down to this; knowing that hope will disarm and destroy any anxiety that we have as long as we focus on Gods endearing love for us.
Keep Hope Alive!
This is a Thompson Truth
