Hope Instead of Fear

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

God has not given us a spirit of fear. And if God has given us power and love, He has also not given us a spirit of anxiety and anger. So, if these characteristics are not from God, can we stop using them? Can we stop twisting our words to emanate fear in order to get people to agree with us? If God has given us self-discipline, can we hold our tongues? There is a pretty obvious line between speaking the truth in love and speaking the truth in hate, and I think some people tend to justify hate and fear if they think they are speaking truth.

Christians, I’m primarily talking to us. We are supposed to be bringing hope and truth. Instead, some of us are on a conspiracy theory hunt. We should be using a little more wisdom. Have you read Revelation lately? Moral of the story: God wins. We win. Satan tries his hardest, but He loses. The end of this blink in history and then we enjoy the rest of eternity with our Creator.

We are in the midst of some unique times. We have the opportunity to point people to Christ and hope. Almost every church has their service online. Devotions are online. Bible Studies are online. The church has now moved from buildings to every home in the world. Are you pushing people towards this? Are you using your voice to proclaim the Gospel and God’s love? If Christ returns tomorrow, what will be the last thing you say or post online?

I want to encourage you to show love. People don’t need fear. Every avenue of media is telling them to fear. They need love and hope. They’ve lost jobs and loved ones, have had to cancel or postpone life events, and are just plain tired of having their lives on hold. Can we be the light? Can we point people to the only One who brings hope? When our church building doors finally open, there should be a flood of people who have found hope during this time and want more.

I know I included a lot of questions in this blog post, and if hope is the answer, let it begin with me.

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