Potential or problems? Obstacles or opportunities? Half full or half empty? Depending on our perspective, we're considered to be generally optimistic or pessimistic.
A recent readings from Number 13 reminded me of the tremendous difference outlook can make. The people of Israel had been led out of Egyptian captivity, and they stood poised to enter the land which God had promised to them. A delegation of twelve spies had been selected, one from each of the twelve tribes. Their mission: To scout out the land - its people, cities, and produce. A realistic assessment was needed in order to develop a conquest strategy. The mission was about "how", not "if", because God has already declared: "the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel" (Numbers 13:2).
Ten spies return with a negative report; all they could see were the obstacles: "the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large ... We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us ... The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size ... and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."(Numbers 13:28,31-33).
But, two men saw the opportunities rather than the obstacles: "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it." (Numbers 13:30) Sadly, their report was negated by the nay-sayers, and the people of Israel were consigned to forty years of futile wandering away from this land of promise.
Twelve men all witnessed the same things, but the assessment of ten was drastically different than the assessment of two. Faith in God's statement and promise by the two men made all the difference.
We are all contemporaries who live in the same world. We generally receive the same news and information about the world we live in. How we assess that information, however, can be radically different. Some will proclaim in despair, "what is this world coming to?", while others will state, "We know what's coming to the world!" We either believe God's word about "the promised land" (coming kingdom), and we despair at the problems that loom large.
Realistically, there are major obstacles to be faced in living, and the prospect of increased hardship as this age comes to a close. But, as surely as Yahweh God is God, His kingdom promise and the return of His Son to rule it are absolute sureties you can take to the bank. What He promises will come to pass, regardless of the challenges along the way. "Your kingdom come. You will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."
May the absolute reality of tomorrow pervade all of today.
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2011
A recent readings from Number 13 reminded me of the tremendous difference outlook can make. The people of Israel had been led out of Egyptian captivity, and they stood poised to enter the land which God had promised to them. A delegation of twelve spies had been selected, one from each of the twelve tribes. Their mission: To scout out the land - its people, cities, and produce. A realistic assessment was needed in order to develop a conquest strategy. The mission was about "how", not "if", because God has already declared: "the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel" (Numbers 13:2).
Ten spies return with a negative report; all they could see were the obstacles: "the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large ... We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us ... The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size ... and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."(Numbers 13:28,31-33).
But, two men saw the opportunities rather than the obstacles: "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it." (Numbers 13:30) Sadly, their report was negated by the nay-sayers, and the people of Israel were consigned to forty years of futile wandering away from this land of promise.
Twelve men all witnessed the same things, but the assessment of ten was drastically different than the assessment of two. Faith in God's statement and promise by the two men made all the difference.
We are all contemporaries who live in the same world. We generally receive the same news and information about the world we live in. How we assess that information, however, can be radically different. Some will proclaim in despair, "what is this world coming to?", while others will state, "We know what's coming to the world!" We either believe God's word about "the promised land" (coming kingdom), and we despair at the problems that loom large.
Realistically, there are major obstacles to be faced in living, and the prospect of increased hardship as this age comes to a close. But, as surely as Yahweh God is God, His kingdom promise and the return of His Son to rule it are absolute sureties you can take to the bank. What He promises will come to pass, regardless of the challenges along the way. "Your kingdom come. You will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."
May the absolute reality of tomorrow pervade all of today.
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2011
posted by steve @ 9:26 AM
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