Coming Together: How to Say Goodbye to Fear & Lean into Faith

I have been consulting with a company for the past few months and many of the organizational issues within the company have been addressed and fixed. But one problem remains and I don’t think it will be solved very soon, because it involves getting companies to work together. The world today seems to be so competitive that even if the companies are not in competition, each feels like they need to “win." Whatever that means.

So, in conversation with my client I asked the question, “Have you ever asked yourself what would happen if your companies actually worked together?” I heard a quote a few years ago that said, “Snowflakes are one of natures most fragile things, but just look at what they can do when they work together.” Think of what we could do if we worked together—in business and in life. Society today is so polarized. Instead of being jealous, competitive, territorial, or easily threatened, what if we became extravagantly generous with our resources. ideas, time, and understanding?

As I discussed this idea with my client, I received a huge pushback. He worried that if he gave away any ideas to other companies his company might lose its advantage. Sound familiar? We see the same thing in churches, clubs, teams, and society in general. Aas he did this, he found the opposite was actually true. The more they have been giving away, the more they have been gaining resources in other places. And instead of depleting their creative ideas, they have discovered more. Not such a surprise, is it? Scripture tells us, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” But it had to start with a hope that others will participate in the exchange.

As I look at the world around us, I see people who are finding that hope is hard to find. Uncertainty, confusion, anxiety, depression, and fear have taken root in ways unseen in recent years and it has often eliminated any glimmer of hope. But if we truly believe in God, hope is ours for both the giving and receiving. As I have been praying for others lately, I have been using a common phrase, "The difference between faith and fear is focus." When we have faith in God and remain focused on Him, how can we not have hope?

Every one of us will walk through trials that might look like seasons of pain. Loss or grief. However, I have found that hope that is born out of faith in God offers hope that is never lost. What happens when we are filled with hope? God becomes more visible in our lives. But if we are focused on divisiveness, hatred, fear, jealousy, un-forgiveness, and mistrust, those things become more visible. If instead, we are most focused on Him, we experience life so deeply that we become free to actually love others without limits and conditions. If you think about it, focusing on God is empowering. In a world where uncertainty seems to prevail it is something that we should strive for.

Faith over fear is a slogan I have seen on T-shirts and as a hashtag. It is an important scriptural truth, but there is a greater truth to this catchy phrase. It is not so much that faith itself overcomes, it is the object of our faith, God, that overcomes. I can have faith in my company, in my systems, in other people. I can have faith in the global economy, too. But all these things fall short of the unchanging, outrageous omnipotence of God.

It is God who helps us overcome not only the fear, but our insecurity, confusion, doubt, pain, and dysfunction. As believers, we are connected not only to the source of life but life itself. Not long ago, my grandson was taking part in a family discussion about what it means to be rich. One of his siblings talked about someone with a big house. Another talked about someone he knew that owned a Lamborghini. We had been listening to a TV program about a new long-term contract that a professional athlete had received. But then my grandson said, "You know, we are all rich in God’s love."

He was exactly right, and if we are rich in God’s love, and we work together, give generously to others—our time, or ideas, or resources, our understanding, and our faith—we remain faithful in all circumstances.

Back in the 1960’s there was a song by the Beatles titled “Come Together”. The song reflected the ethos of the time, emphasizing the importance of coming together in a world marked by chaos and division. It might not be a bad idea in today’s world, in the board room, in the economy, even in the coffee shop—let's come together.