March 26, 2026

After The Story | Episode 19

After the Story - Choices Like Rivers Episode 19

This podcast discusses each chapter of Choices Like Rivers and each episode is posted directly after the book episode. This corresponds to Chapter 7 Section 3.

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This section is a window into the normal everyday life of Sharon and Molly Sue. We note here that Bill, the chief of police and Sharon’s boss came to see Molly Sue at the school play. An indication that he too has gotten attached to the child.

We also see here, further into the disappointment that has caused Sharon to be jaded against God. She has a firm resolve to not hope because it causes disappointment and pain.

But, she does hope. She hopes that she will get to keep Molly Sue. The difference is that she does not hope with faith in Christ. She hopes in a worldly sense.

This distinction needs to clarified because we meet it everyday. Everyone has some type of hope. Everyone has some type of faith.

When we get in our car we have faith that it will start. Taking it further, when we get out on the highway where dozens of cars are hurling around us, we have faith that we won’t collide into each other.

But that is very often worldly faith based on experience. We are in the habit of having our car start so it builds faith that it will start, so says the law of averages.

The same thing with driving down the road. We have not collided more times than we have, so we have built confidence that we can drive and not wreck. Again, so says the law of averages.

But this isn’t faith in God. It is faith in what we have come to learn through life. And if we haven’t learned it from experience, then it is hard to believe it.

But in Hebrews 11:1 it says “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

So worldly hope and faith are based on what we have seen and experienced. But godly faith is based on what we do not or have not seen. It is actually confidence in unseen hope.

We must ask ourselves, why kind of hope and faith do we have. Do we have hope in a situation because our experience has shown that believing a thing to happen is a good bet based on the law of averages. Or, do we have blind hope and faith not based on human reality.

I know that often we say we believe or we have faith, but it runs right along with what is a safe bet.

Ask yourself, do you have true faith that can believe something that defies the odds?

Maybe you want to start a new business but have never had business experience so you just can’t believe that will happen for you. You discount the fact that God can move situations where you can gain training or knowledge or help so that your dream can come true. You haven’t seen it so you can’t believe it.

Maybe you want a promotion at work, but you see so many other co-workers who are more qualified and even favored by management. So in your heart and mind you can’t believe for a promotion for yourself.

But, maybe God can move things in your favor if you have hope and faith in what he can do rather than what you believe you can do.

If you are believing for a promotion and have personal confidence of getting it because you know you are the most qualified, your hope is not based on trust in God. Your confidence is not in what God can do for you, but confidence in your own abilities and attributes. So in that instance when you say you hope, or you have faith you will get the promotion. It isn’t true faith.

Sharon can’t even believe in herself any longer. She tries to bolster herself and her own self esteem, but it is an ongoing battle. When we reach that point, the only thing we can do is learn to trust God again. It may take baby steps and learning to trust again in the small things. But if you are at the point, let me encourage you to try once again.

I genuinely believe that the more capable we are in and of our own selves, the harder it is to trust God. We can do it. We can handle it. We are intelligent enough to figure it out on our own.

But having this mindset instead of simple childlike faith robs us of so much. God has great and mighty things for us. Things we cannot achieve on our own. Things we can’t make happen on our own. But unless we step out and trust him and believe him, we cannot get there on our own steam.