“But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation My God will hear me.” Micah 7:7
Anticipation speaks of hope, that breath catching in your chest, heart-racing feeling that comes as you look forward to something exciting. I have felt it on a flight to Paris, waiting for my eyes to land on someone I love while I’m onstage, and seeing my dad and my best friend both received into the church.
But as someone who has faced the bitterness of rejection, the grief of a family torn apart by death or betrayal, I am also no stranger to dread. When I was younger, my prayers reflected that: “Lord, please don’t let my house catch on fire, or let anyone in my family die tonight.” Fear and anxiety made it difficult to sleep.
We have known the fulfillment of hope, as well as the dread that comes with having been hurt, and it can be so difficult to separate those two experiences! How do we feed hope? How do we starve our dread? How on earth can we afford to be realistic – when reality seems so dark?
The practice that will keep us healthy is prayer – and praying words based on truth, instead of fear. Bad things will happen to us. Good things will happen to us. We don’t need to know which one is coming, if we know the One Who has come.
Pray in a way that reflects those words in Micah. Trust that the God of our salvation does hear us. And that He will come again, to heal all wounds and to fulfill all His promises.
Lord, as for me, I will watch expectantly for you. You have given me the gift of salvation and no matter what comes my way I want to choose hope. Help me dismiss unhealthy fear. I love You, and I pray in Your victorious name. Amen.
Take Action
Meditate on God’s promise to give you power over fear and spend some time identifying the sources of your anxiety and handing them over to Him. Take as long as you need. Sometimes it helps to write your fears down on stones and toss them into a river, or make a list and burn it, to help you really let go.