Fear of Death |
Joshua 14 -Caleb's 85th birthday. Caleb's constant cry "The Lord is with us". Hope is that God is unchanging. Heb. 13 -always with us, never leave or forsake you no matter what. Hope is in God, not im desires or my emotions. Faith is that now I have the present possession of God's grace. Hope is always future tense, i.e., hope is faith that extends into the future.
12 spies, ten said no, 2 said yes. Caleb suffered the fate of the naysayers, a victim of their sins, Caleb did not follow the crowd's sins, he forgave them, those who thwarted his dreams of entering the promised land.
Caleb's hope was not in people but in God. He was not cynical of people, saw their failures but his faith and hope was in God , not people. Hope in God and God is in you now, that is all that matters.
Neither was caleb jealous of Joshua. Being victims of the past is having hope in self but not in God. Hoping in others, you will be disappointed, another snare . Our hope is to be in God or we will be disappointed, and cynicism will become a pattern. Then our bodies will yield to this despair and we become sicker and sicker.
Time heals nothing, it just buries it, hides it, only the Spirit of Christ heals a broken heart. Our full potential always remains, growing and developing until the image of Christ is revealed, the potential of Christ in us.
Don't put hope in people or self but only in God. Key is to forgive the past completely, all the hurts caused by others or by self. Ask God to put His love in me in order for me to deal with the past.
Ps. 42:11 -Hope in God is a command, not what others have done or not done to us. Self-pity comes when I think there is no God, leaving God out of the equation.