Is your glass half full or half empty? Do you wear rose-colored glasses or do you expect Murphy’s law everywhere you look? Are you looking on the bright side or expecting the worst?
The words optimistic and pessimistic are opposites and when used in the context of a person’s general outlook, it expresses their sense of whether a situation will turn out positively or negatively. And therein lies the problem – expecting to see a positive or negative outcome as the immediate consequence or at least very quickly showing up as a result.
Yet an optimist will continue to see the positive as a general rule, and vice versa, the pessimist will continue to expect the negative to show up. However, even optimists will swing to pessimism in some places, and on special occasions, the pessimist may strike an optimistic chord. We can flip and flop.
So – why does it matter? What does it affect? I think it is important to know how you operate in the Spiritual realm – Spiritual Optimism vs. Spiritual Pessimism. I am fairly sure that Spiritual Optimism might greatly influence our ‘daily operating’ choice of viewpoint.
Consider David who was certainly an optimist as he faced Goliath. As Henry Blackaby points out in his Experiencing God Day by Day devotional, David could always see God’s activity while a pessimist would concentrate on why something cannot be done. Putting myself in David’s sandals, I wonder what would grab my attention and direct my action?
Blackaby makes the point that David did not go into battle unprepared but instead picked up 5 smooth stones for his sling which was his weapon in the shepherding field against wild animals – it was the weapon he knew and trusted and, as he told Saul, it was the Lord who delivered him from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear (and yes, using whatever the Lord provided him). Speaking of trust – that was what Blackaby pointed out: David was prepared for God to grant him victory with the first stone he hurled at the giant or the fifth. He was ready to accept God’s victory, whether it came easily or with much effort. He put total trust in God being with him to defeat this giant. How I long for that level of assurance.
See 1 Samuel 17:45 where David declares to Goliath that while he comes at David with dagger, spear and sword, David comes “against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies – you have defied Him.”
As Blackaby explains, optimists do not ignore the difficulties; they are keenly aware of them. But the knowledge of God’s presence prevents them from becoming discouraged or giving up. Then he makes a bold statement – “It is impossible to stand in the presence of God and be a pessimist!”
He is so right! Blackaby says the David and Goliath illustration is a vivid picture of the source of the Christian’s faith – not our own size, strength or resources, but the power of the almighty God. If we focus on our opposition and problems, they will seem gigantic – but as we focus on God, we will see our situation in the proper perspective and be assured that all things are possible with God. I think I need to memorize Philippians 4:13 (I can do everything through him who gives me strength).
AND YET, I go back to the part of this problem that plagues me…the timing of it all. David got immediate results – Goliath went down and David finished him off and gave the Lord the glory. But what if the results or the consequences are not immediate? In fact, are oh-so-slow in showing up? Isn’t that where we start doubting God and whether His direction was the correct one, etc.?
Oh yes, Blackaby elsewhere in his devotional book provided the answer to my query. I am always wanting the quick result, the quick demo of whether I chose right or wrong, or will I hunker down in pessimism or optimism.
The truth is that when we are experiencing God’s blessing, it is easy to believe that God knows what is best and that He is the one leading. But when He allows sorrow in our lives, we may be tempted to question His wisdom. I sure do. Blackaby’s illustration of our guidance is in the story of King Hezekiah (one of the righteous kings).
God told Hezekiah that his life was coming to an end. He urged him to be making the preparations to turn over his kingdom. Hezekiah gave pushback (you see, this is why I DON’T want to know things like this, I would do just the same). In fact, Hezekiah resorted to begging and God loved him, says Blackaby, and granted him an additional fifteen years to live.
What I didn’t know until I read Blackaby’s devotional on this is what happened in those next 15 years. A son, Manasseh, was born to Hezekiah and was the one who succeeded him as king. He ended up reigning for 55 years and was the most evil king ever to rule over Judah (see 2 Kings 21:1) Idolatry, passing his own son through fire, shedding much innocent blood — every part of the nation suffered from his cruelty. All of this was caused by Manasseh, who would never have been born if Hezekiah had accepted God’s will for his life.
Even worse, the fact of Hezekiah’s extended reign led to Judah’s eventual defeat by the Babylonians. So much suffering. Just because Hezekiah was not willing to accept God’s will for him which to him seemed so harsh.
OK, this is where I have over and over come to stepping into Job’s story and life. I stand right beside him yelling and crying out “not fair, I need a mediator to make things right…”, etc. I suspect you have been there with us, too. But I have to go back to God’s response to Job – “where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth….set the oceans in their place….put the constellations in position”….etc.
Yep, I need the reminder that Job got in the last chapter of his book, chapter 42 of Job. He finally “gets it” – and for me, I have to “get it” again, and again. I might as well memorize Job’s response because I need it so often – “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted….I repent in dust and ashes.”
I don’t know if you need this reminder of a lesson as often as I do, but I pray it will be of help to you whether you commonly identify as a pessimist or an optimist. You, and I, can move into the Spiritual Optimist role where God is waiting to bless us even when we are not aware it is a blessing coming our way in God’s perfect timing.
