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Yesterday I mentioned my wise theology professor, Keith Egan. In an article entitled “Banishing Anxiety,” he wrote the following about hope:
“Hope is a call to choose life and to choose it to the full, to live vibrantly knowing that Jesus Christ did not die in vain. The hope offered by Jesus has roots in the Hebrew scriptures where hope for the messiah was what brought courage to a people who faced impossible odds. Jesus heard the same words from God that we now hear from Isaiah: ‘…do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand…. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’ (Isa 41: 10, 13) Courage and love are the answers to the anxiety of our times.
“Hope is a gift from God and it is ours to use in the struggle to overcome fear and anxiety. Thomas Aquinas says that hope and love are mutually related. To grow in one is to grow in the other. We have a challenge as followers of Jesus to heed his assurance: ‘Fear not, little flock.’ This courage and love will make our church and ourselves signs of hope in an age all too prone to let itself be paralyzed by anxiety. It is not so necessary to know all the ins and outs about the causes of anxiety. Rather we best spend our energy letting God replace anxiety with forgiveness, mercy and love. Not some abstract love but a love that stretches me so that I reach out to my neighbor in need. As Teresa of Jesus has written, love of neighbor is a sign of love of God. The kind of love that displaces fear is the nitty gritty, hands in the dirt kind of love that makes no excuses but loves with gusto my neighbor, black or while, Muslim or Jew, rich or poor.”
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Therese J. Borchard writes the daily blog, Beyond Blue, on Beliefnet and is a regular contributor to the award-winning blog, World of Psychology, on Psych Central. Therese is the author of Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes and The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit. Subscribe to Beyond Blue, visit her website, or follow her on Twitter @thereseborchard.
Meet others on the journey in
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Therese J. Borchard writes the daily blog, Beyond Blue, on Beliefnet and is a regular contributor to the award-winning blog, World of Psychology, on Psych Central. Therese is the author of Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression & Anxiety and Making the Most of Bad Genes and The Pocket Therapist: An Emotional Survival Kit. Subscribe to Beyond Blue, visit her website, or follow her on Twitter @thereseborchard.
posted July 23, 2007 at 10:42 am
Read the article On Hope,its beautiful.
Would love to believe that one day I’ll be able to
live a normal life and enjoy life to the fullest.
Suffer with anxiety attacks for 30 years.
Been to therapy for ten years.Sad to say the treatment
did not work. Prayer is my only hope,if only I could
over come these fears that have made me a prisoner,
maybe one day I can live again.
Please pray for me.Thank you.
posted August 11, 2007 at 2:56 am
I too read the article on Hope it is nice to know that we do have hope even when,especially when we have nothing else bt hope. Hpe is wht keeps me and faith is wht keeps me hoping they come hnd in hnd.for the woman tht sffered for thirty years you dont have to suffer anymore GIVE YOUR FEARS TO JESUS AND HE WILL TAKE THEM. Rememer God loves you and so do I. I will pray for you as i hope you pray for me.
God bless you and keep you always