| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Be the church” Our Bible verse for today: “Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!” Numbers 13:30 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Hope gives us confidence” This morning I want to return to the topic we have explored in previous devotionals in this series regarding hope and optimism and the fact that hope is more than just optimism because it is rooted in something deeper. Optimism involves having a positive outlook and living with the expectation of good things to come. “Hope,” as used in the Bible, is one step beyond optimism because it is rooted in faith and trust in God. Caleb and Joshua had that kind of hope. That’s what we read about in Numbers chapter thirteen. Twelve spies had been sent out by Moses to survey the Promised Land and to bring back a report. What they discovered was exactly what God had promised – it was a beautiful land filled with promise and great potential. It was everything God said it would be, and more. But there was a problem. The people living in the land were big and strong and well-armed. Ten of the spies returned afraid and unwilling to go forward. They said, “We seemed like grasshoppers compared to them!” Caleb and Joshua saw the same thing, but from a different perspective. While the ten saw the challenge and they panicked, Caleb and Joshua saw the promise and they rejoiced. The ten were focused on the size of their enemies, Caleb and Joshua were focused on the size of their God. The ten had fear, Caleb and Joshua had hope – hope in the Biblical sense of strong faith and full trust in God. Theirs was the eager expectation of good things to come. It was optimism plus God. Hope gives us confidence as we look to the future. Strong faith and full trust in God help us to see the promise rather than the problems. Strong, bold, faithful, resilient Christians live with hope and therefore with confidence. Our world needs to see Christians approaching life optimistically and with hope because we have such deep faith and trust in God. As dark and ominous as circumstances can sometimes seem, if we truly do have strong faith and unquestioned trust in God then we will not give in to pessimism, doom, gloom, and despair. There is also no reason to be frantic, loud, and shrill. If God is sovereign over the affairs of men; and if we truly are on-mission with Jesus in the world blessing people and sharing the Good News; and if we really do believe that Jesus’ words are true and that He will build His church and the very gates of hell will not prevent Him from doing so; then we can and should engage our world with a positive sense of hope. We live in tough times and there are big challenges in front of us, but God is bigger than our challenges. So, we can face the future with confidence and with the eager expectation of good things to come. Jesus is still on the throne, we are still saved, the victory is assured, and we are on the winning side. I encourage us all to act like it. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
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I loved these words, “Jesus is still on the throne, we are still saved, the victory is assured, and we are on the winning side”. Thanks for the encouragement. Have a wonderful day! God bless.
Thank you Donna. You too!