Mavericks who go their own way and play by their own rules are popular in all the stories. Truly exceptional individuals are not rebels but faithful followers of God who make the good life possible for everyone. They lead not from a sense of brokenness but from a place of trust in the God Who Does Not Fail. 

Truly Exceptional are two words that sound like a boutique shop in a trendy mall. What if these words were applied to you for all the right reasons? What if your boss, when speaking about you to others, called you Truly Exceptional?

What if your work products were deemed by others as Truly Exceptional?

What if your grades and insights in your continuing education were considered Truly Exceptional? 

What would it take for you to hear God say about you what he said about Caleb and Joshua, that you are what they were, Truly Exceptional?

Caleb and Joshua were the Positive Alternative to the other ten spies whose names you cannot recall. Those men saw all God promised was true but fell into a league of fear. Their negative orientation toward life turned them into critics who caused an entire generation to die short of inheriting all the goodness God had in store for them. 

You and I can live with a Negative Orientation like everyone else, or we can be the Positive Alternative.

We can fall in line with the Unfaithful Majority, or we can join the ranks of the Truly Exceptional. 

George Herbert said, “Living well is the best revenge.” Those who quote this quote and apply this application often do so in complete opposition to what George Herbert actually meant. 

Herbert was a poet and a priest. He was not referring to fine clothes, luxurious surroundings, and the fawning attention of servants and spectators. Instead, he referred to the kind of life Caleb and Joshua understood. He referred to the Positive Alternative. He talked about the Truly Exceptional.

Paul Harvey used to come on the radio on this particular day of the week and say, “Good morning, Americans. It’s Friday!” ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC-DpKmgpwg]) This was no lament at the end of a worn-out workweek. This was the triumph of expectation for all that lay ahead. Paul Harvey was the Positive Alternative. Paul Harvey was Truly Exceptional. 

Live as the Positive Alternative.

Live a life God will describe as Truly Exceptional.

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I will live as the Positive Alternative and Truly Exceptional as I stride confidently into a life directed by God’s heart.

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Our Father, how could we not live with positivity when we know you, your will, and your ways? How could we not experience truly exceptional lives when you are in charge, and we are about your purposes? Give us the same spirit Caleb and Joshua had. Empower us with their kind of confidence. May we live well today and every day as we know you and experience you and help others do the same. Amen.