MY GREAT HOPE-HINDRANCE - and an answer

My greatest, personal hindrance to HOPE is anxiety.

There! I said it.

It's just nine simple words.

However, to put that sentence on a page, let alone on the internet for others to read, took courage.

I reached down to my toes to bring it up through my fingers.

I don't want to be known as "one of those." 

One of what?

A worrier.

One with "carking cares." (I just love that word "carking...")

Jesus commands "don't."

Solomon adamantly advised to "refuse" it.

Paul echoes Jesus (he always does)...then, in his own words clarifies, "Be anxious for.......(What, Paul; what can I be anxious for?)...........NOTHING!"

Peter directs us to "cast it away."

The psalmist is just plain rude. He connects the dots of worry to vanity.

Oh, really?

Yep.

Here's a fly-over...

The problem is that for HOPE to SPRING UP, and to FLOURISH as a flower of beauty in my garden of faith, the weeds of anxiety have to be eliminated.

The gospels are clear on this.

I like the way the Message paraphrase repeats Jesus' words (Mark 4:18-19, Luke 8:14, Mt 13:22):

Nothing comes of the seed choked by worry.

Nothing!

Hope turns to hopelessness; and, we all know where that leads (if you're uncertain, go back and look at the very first entry on this study of hope on January 11, 2018).

All that is left in the garden are the weeds - and, it takes WORK to eliminate them.

I know.

I make attempts at gardening.

The weeds in my garden are a fairly accurate reflection of the ones in my heart, scattered there from the dandelions of doubt, worry, and anxiety.

From little to big, the cares of my world suffocate HOPE.

It was big-mouthed, abrasive Peter who rebuked and re-directed me this week.

Read his words, unless you are comfortable with anxiety ruling your garden:

Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world (1 Peter 5:5-9).

In five verses, Peter gives us a solution for the best weed-killer known to man. Combine all the ingredients, work it into the soil, yank up the weeds (burn them for good measure), and re-plant HOPE-seeds.

However, each ingredient we need to mix together is a pretty potent "chemical" - so, over the course of the next couple weeks, we better make sure we have exactly the right items, or the solution we stir up won't be effective.

At the same time, I don't want to sign off without giving you the base ingredient. Of this, you'll need cupfuls - to teaspoons and tablespoons of the rest.

What's the "special sauce?"

HONESTY.

Every other item will dissolve best in TRUTHFULNESS.

It's right there in that passage above, advising "sober-mindedness"...meaning, to consider one's state in all seriousness, and/or to accurately describe one's immediate position, or "point of entry."

Sober-mindedness: an honest evaluation of me right now....AND, how I actually got here.

(My definition)

Hence, my first statement - "My greatest, personal hindrance to HOPE is anxiety."

There! I said it, again.

I'm just being honest with myself, and you.

Now, it's time to slowly add the rest of the ingredients, using caution, to make the most potent weed-killer on the market.