Fear or Hope? The Most Important Choice You Make Every Dayಮಾದರಿ

One of our immense privileges is hearing someone else share their story. Our family has a mantra, everyone has a story if you'll stop long enough to listen. When you listen to people share their stories, you find that through a great deal of suffering and adversity, the person became who they are today.

That's the fifth lesson in this plan; our hope in God turns our difficulties into opportunities. When we choose to focus on God's provision and character, we build a strong and confident expectation in Him and the good He's going to bring.

In Numbers 13-14, we meet a spy named Caleb. After the majority of spies shared their fears and doubts about taking the Promised Land, Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy the land, for we are well able to overcome it."

A few verses later, a spy named Joshua joined Caleb in his faith-filled dissent from the rest of the spies. They tore their clothes as a sign of grief and angst. They told the assembly that the land they passed through was "an exceedingly good land." They pleaded with the people, "Do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land."

Twelve spies went into the land. Ten of them came back, talking about the size of the problem. Two of them, Joshua and Caleb, came back talking about the size of their God.

Joshua and Caleb saw what the other ten saw, but they saw it differently. The same thing may be happening to you today. You may have friends and family going through the same circumstances, but they see it differently. Some are responding with fear, and some are responding with hope. Kevin Gerald describes this hope as "an unrelenting determination to not allow the hardships of life to downsize the bigness of God."

When you choose hope, you express an unrelenting determination. Hope is not weakness, passivity, avoidance, or comfort. Hope doesn't require less of us; it demands more of us.

So here's the question for you. What opportunity is God opening up for you during your current difficulty? What is God making possible amid this difficulty you didn't see coming?

Have you ever said, "I need to slow down and be more intentional about spending time with God?" You now have your opportunity.

Have you been saying, "There are some things I need to deal with?" Well, now, in this difficulty, you have an opportunity to face them and seek God's help in that area.

I don't wish you more pain, loss, grief, or disappointment. But, more than I don't wish you that, I want you to not waste this crisis. I want you to see how God is present with you and how He is working, though you may not be able to comprehend it.

The outcome of the spies' visit and report is the next day's subject. It's a sobering reminder that you need before you make a decision you may regret.