An Attitude of Hope

This weekend was a refreshing and wonderful celebration. Aaron and I attended a conference for Brain Tumor patients and their families. We met several people who were "standing in the same shoes" if you will, as we are. Many of them in seemingly more difficult trials, as they have faced what the statistics made it seem to be a very grim outlook for them, given that they had what is called a stage IV brain tumor (a tumor that seems to always come back and is very aggressive). One couple in particular, we seemed to really connect with, as the husband had gone through both surgery and radiation and was in remission at this point.

Throughout the conference...an attitude of hope seemed to be what kept all of us moving forward. Throughout our battle with this brain tumor, God has always been the power that has moved us forward and He has always promised to guide us.

This conference reminded me of when God told the Israelites of the Promised land that was rich and fertile, "a land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 13:27)." Moses sent out scouts for forty days to explore the land and report back to him, Aaron, and the people of Israel what they had found. They reported back that it was a "magnificent country" and brought back proof of its fruit. But they also reported many reasons why it seemed that they couldn't conquer the land (e.g. the people living there were powerful, their cities and towns were fortified and very large, and there were giants there that made them seems as though they were just grasshoppers standing next to them).

The scouts brought fear and discouragement amongst the people of Israel, but I Love what Caleb shouted, "Let's go at once to take the land and we can certainly conquer it!" (Numbers 13:30).

Although there are many "scouts" in our world with negative opinions that cause others to accept negativity and fear into their thoughts and eventually it leads to affect our lives. Because it is our nature to accept opinion as fact at times, we must truly be careful of the words we choose speak. We can heavily influence the lives around us, especially those that trust us and weigh our opinions very heavily.

Even though the Israelites chose to complain and grumble (as at times we/I do) I want to be a "Caleb" a spirit of hope, a person with the right attitude, a person that may have the "unpopular" attitude, but in fact one that takes hold of the promises that God has given me!

I saw spirits of hope and positive attitudes amongst those in the conference, and I pray that I spoke into others' lives that gave them encouragement.

I pray today that whatever difficulty, big or small, that you don't back down through your trials, even though it may seem discouraging and very difficult at that moment, stand where you are and let the Lord rescue you! Take hold of the promises He has given you. Be a "Caleb" today, encourage others around you to "conquer" what is before them!