Step Two: Conquering the Fear of the Future
“Christ in you is your hope of Glory” (Colossians 1:27).
Jesus has chosen to make His abiding place in me. My heart is His home. And because He lives in me, I have hope. This hope isn’t just wishful thinking, but rather a confident expectation stamped on my heart, etched into my belief system and unmovable. Because of Jesus I have joyful anticipation that I will experience glory.
Glory is an incredibly inclusive word that describes the splendor, brightness and reality of God. Glory is God’s opinion, view and perspective. With Jesus in me, I have confident expectation that His view and opinion of me will become my reality.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
Sin is when I fall short of God’s view of myself and I forget His view of my future. We tend to presume that sin is a behavior thing, but it really is a belief thing!
“Jesus said to him, ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:23-25 NKJV).
This simple train of thought shakes the foundations of my opinion and assumption about sin. Is my greatest sin the times I failed in my behavior? Or is it when I have believed the lies of the accuser, and made these accusations my own thoughts, and made them my self-talk?
When trauma or failure occurs and we fear the future, we immediately talk to ourselves about ourselves. Often, it turns to the dark side! I’m no good, I’m never going to get ahead, there’s no hope for my future, everyone’s against me!
The question then becomes this: When we face challenges, do we talk to ourselves as less than who God says we are? Do we confess who God says we are? Or does our self-talk make us give in and continue to fear the future? Lord, help my unbelief! I want my self-talk to inspire and motivate me to get up and be the overcomer God says I am!
The next step to conquering fear of the future is actually a huge leap. What would it feel like to talk to myself about the future in agreement with how God talks about my future? Faith is not a leap into the unknown, but rather running into the known promises and character of God. There is no question when it comes to God. He is good, and only good. He is Love, He is full of mercy and the majesty of His strength created the entire universe.
Today is my day to remember that God is good, and the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. I repent for my unbelief. I repent of any self-talk that hasn’t been in agreement with who God says I am. I align myself with God’s Word, experiencing myself as loved, approved and righteous because Christ in me is my hope of Glory. Thank you Jesus that you went to the cross and paid for all my debts. I fully and receive accept your righteousness as my free gift. Because of who you are, I have no fear of the future!
What a great day to revel in God’s goodness!
Love Audrey