Matthew 6:25-34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Hebrews 6:13-20
Hope is the Anchor to Our Soul
13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
Matthew 26:36-46
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Jesus in one of His teachings that tells us no to worry, because God is here...Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself...Each day has enough trouble of its own...I do believe Him, but I am unable to follow His teaching on this...I have been plagued with anxiety for many, many years and worry is a large portion of my life...Even as I read His Words today, I have a worry that in the back of my mind something could happen...And I know worry does not help or change things, yet I do worry and continue to worry...
Anxiety brings me fear and dread and avoidance...And fear keeps anxiety alive and going...On the other hand, Jesus offers a world of hope instead a world of fear...His Words are to trust in God and to let go and let God...God is a God of hope, and hope is the anchor to our soul...Hope helps move us forward, while fear and anxiety hold us back...
But fear is not something that is not discussed by His followers...St. John writes that God, who is Perfect LOVE, drives out fear...When we truly are able to trust in God the fears float away...But this is difficult, very difficult, at least for me...But for those of us are unable to do always trust in God, we have Jesus...We have Him and the Holy Spirit to help us and to cling to this hope...It also gives me hope to see the human side of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He had fear and anxiousness the night right before His arrest and He ask that His suffering cup be taken away...And we see that Jesus ask for the help of others (His Disciples) in His upcoming grief and apprehension...Although they were tired and sleepy, they were with Him...We know that Jesus had this Great Hope in His Father...
So it seems that hope is not the absence of fear...Hope can come in the middle of our fears...Hope is not always a place of comfort we can run to, but it is a mournful and tearful Hallelujah...Those around us can help us in our fears, just as Jesus looked to His Disciples in the Garden...We can hold on to hope despite our fears and grief...So we can recognize our fears, while having hope and holding on to our hopes...Believing in Jesus gives us this hope that He is with His Father and help gives us more openness to our fears...Hope truly is the anchor to our souls...