Life Get’s Tough - Then What?

What kind of outlook do you have?

Do you complain? Are you pessimistic and unhappy? Or are you happy — even when things aren’t perfect?

These seem like shallow questions, but our emotional wiring drives our outlook more than we realize. Our dysfunctions, the things we worship, our forgiveness, our hope, all of it affects our attitude every single day.

And honestly, I think what we love drives it more than anything else. If you love yourself and always want your way, when things go sideways, you’re going to get pretty persnickety. ]

When self is on the throne, any disruption feels like a personal attack.

As I read the Bible, Numbers chapter 14 puts all of this on full display. The Israelites are in the middle of the Sinai desert, no city, no farm, no structure, eating the same thing every day.

They send twelve spies into the Promised Land and ten come back with a report that sounds like a death sentence. Giants. Fortified cities. Walls that touch the sky. “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes.” (Numbers 13:33, NCV)

And the whole camp collapses. They cry. They complain. They say, “We wish we had died in Egypt. We would be better off going back.” (Numbers 14:2-3, NCV)

Before you judge them, they were tired, far from home, and things sounded genuinely impossible. That’s just life. Sounds familar - right?

But here’s what’s hard to get past. These were not people who had been given no reason to trust God. They watched the Red Sea split. They walked through on dry ground. They watched their enemies drown behind them. Water came out of a rock. Bread fell from the sky. They heard the audible voice of God at Mount Sinai.

No generation in history had seen what they saw. And God’s response cuts right to it: “They have seen my glory and the miracles I did in Egypt and in the desert, but they have tested me ten times now and have not obeyed me.”(Numbers 14:22, NCV)

It wasn’t a lack of evidence. It was a failure to remember. The key to hope is remembering.

Solomon said it plainly: “Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5, NCV)

Our own understanding deceives us, especially when we’re afraid. In moments of fear, your understanding will tell you the giants are bigger than God. It will tell you Egypt was better than it was. It will tell you the promise isn’t worth the risk.

Trust is the decision you make before you can see the outcome. Because if you can already see the outcome, you don’t need trust or faith.

“Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.” (Hebrews 11:1, NCV)

Most of the time when we get upset, our reflex is not to trust God, it’s to get what we want. And when we don’t get it, the temperature rises. That’s how selfish and sinful we are.

What we should do is pause, take a breath, and pray. Do you actually believe you are being seen? God sees. God knows. He has not turned loose of the wheel. And when you pray - pause, even stop - then listen. Just sit and listen.

If not, watch how fast it escalated in Numbers 14. It started as crying. Then complaining. Then it became a plan, “Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” That’s no longer fear talking. That’s rebellion.

They were so done with the uncertainty of God’s plan that they’d rather have the certainty of chains.

And the tragic irony? The very people they were most worried about losing, their children, those were the ones who made it into the Promised Land. Not because they were stronger or had a better plan. They were just following faithfully. Childlike faith.

Jesus said it himself, “You must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a little child, or you will never enter it.” (Mark 10:15, NCV)

The adults had too much history with disappointment. The children just followed.

Two men - Joshua and Caleb, looked at the exact same situation and reached a completely different conclusion.

Same giants, same walls, same impossible landscape. “Don’t be afraid of the people in that land! We will chew them up. They have no protection, but we have the Lord.” (Numbers 14:9, NCV)

Ten spies filtered everything through their own strength. Two spies filtered it through God’s track record. That’s the difference between a negative person and a hopeful one.

It’s not personality. It’s not the happy gene. It’s the framework you’re using to interpret your life.

Here’s the point that should make us stop and think. God said: “As surely as I live, I will do to you exactly what I heard you say.” (Numbers 14:28, NCV)

When it gets down to who you really are, it’s not what people see. It’s not what you say in public. It’s the you in the dark. In your car. The private thoughts and feelings nobody else hears. That’s what God sees. That’s what God hears.

Psalm 78 was written to memorialize this exact failure: “They forgot what he had done and the wonders he had shown them.” (Psalm 78:11, NCV)

Forget and fear. Remember and take courage. It really is just that simple, and just that hard. I didn’t say it was easy.

So what kind of person are you — really? Not the Sunday version. The one God actually hears. Because it was never about the giants. It was never about the walls. It was about what Israel believed about God when things got hard and the outcome was unclear.

And it’s the same question for you and me today. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned.” (Isaiah 43:2, NCV)

He doesn’t promise you won’t hit the water. He promises “I will be with you” in it. So if it’s marriage, work, health, mental struggles, money, relationships, self-esteem - find a friend who can listen - and help. Pray, ask God to give you the eyes.

And evaluate - have you ever given your life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? He lived and died to pay for your past, present and future sins. He overcame death so you can live in heaven for eternity. And He will help you today because as you trust Him, you possess the Holy Spirit. He will lead you.

If you don’t understand or have a trouble believing - just message me and I’ll help. Or find a good friend or church that can help. Why? Because help is there - just for you. All you have to do is receive it.

GOD help the person reading this to beleive. Life is hard, but there are solutions in and with You. Help them. IJNIP amen ♥️