Optimism is not the Same as Hope

Are you a “glass half-full” person rather than a “glass half-empty?” Are you a member of “the sunny-side-of-the-street” club? That’s great. But as good as optimism is, it’s not hope.

Optimism may have to do with a personality type. Some people, by makeup, are more optimistic. Or, optimism may have more to do with environment. You may have learned optimism (or pessimism) from your parents. With some learned skills, a person can probably train themselves to become more optimistic, or less. 

Optimism has benefits. Of course there are benefits for you. Who wants to be always down, expecting the worst, negative about the possibilities? Optimism may rub off on others. Your optimism may inspire others to try things they would not have otherwise. That’s good. But it’s not hope.

Optimism’s benefits are limited to life lived in this present world. If this world in its present form is heading for an ugly end, the reality of that end will not be mitigated by your rosy view of things. If the boat is sinking, optimism will not make it float.

Hope, on the other hand, is a personal attachment to a promise. Granted, the hope is only as reliable as the promise, and so there can be false hopes, in that there are empty promises. But when our hope is personally attached to the promises of God, “who cannot lie,” then we have a rock on which to stand, in contrast to either a bright and positive spirit, or a mere silly, sappy optimism.

Biblical hope is the conviction born of promise that God will ultimately be glorified. He will be glorified in the vindication and exaltation of Jesus Christ, who is coming again to be forever united with His body, peoples from all nations, from across the generations, who have placed their faith in the only Faithful One. Biblical hope confidently expects a new heavens and new earth, in which only righteousness dwells. Biblical hope looks forward to a society in which there is love without end; joy without diminishment. Biblical hope fuels an enduring faith and a self-giving love, because we have so much to look forward to, and the evidence for this new world is already apparent in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the presence of His Spirit in churches and believers in this present age.

Now, can a person be both full of hope and also optimistic? Of course. What would be more surprising would be a Christian who is pessimistic. But actually, what is most appropriate is the person who is hopeful, and realistic - who realizes that we live in a bent, sin-sick world, but that this is not all there is, and we hope for something better.

Showers of Blessing

A recent portion of our summer has been dry. Parts of Michigan are suffering “officially” under drought conditions (they have ways of measuring this sort of thing). The grass in the church yard is bright yellow.

And so as I write these words, the sounds of rain falling outside the window do indeed sound to me like “showers of blessing.” God is good.

I don’t understand a lot about meteorology. Sometimes I suspect that the meteorologists don’t either. But our faith informs our understanding of how things work. And yes, there are high and low pressure centers that affect the weather, fronts that carry along sweeping weather changes, jet streams that section off temperatures and storms, and ocean currents that steer larger weather patterns. But behind it all, above it all, there is the God who gives “showers of blessing.”

I do not believe that God is continually tweaking the weather, fiddling with this front or that current. He is bigger than that, older, in a sense. His purposes are not reactions to sudden situations, but rather eternal intentions that deeply shape our lives. We roil with the changes, but God is ever in control, never shocked or surprised.

But God does indeed give rain, or withhold, according to His mysterious purposes, that, at times, He reveals in His Word: “Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who provides rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains” (Psalm 147:8).

It seems that behind every physical and material thing, there is a spiritual truth as well. And while rain made of real water is really important, “showers of blessing” are certainly not restricted to water falling on thirsty fields. Just as “real,” and even more important, are the showers of blessing that fall on thirsty souls.

Are you dry inside? Is your soul shriveled? Has it been a long time since you have been refreshed by showers of blessing that produces endurance and resilience, that fosters growth and fruitfulness, that energizes in such as a way that you are glad to creatively serve? Has it been a long time since you have fallen in love with Jesus all over again, amazed at His kindness and grace, impressed with our triune God who, at the same time, is both majestic and merciful? May you experience showers of blessing today. 

There are Always More for Ministry

As a pastor waits weekly on a congregation to gather, we might be impressed with David’s ability to attract a crowd. Here he is, on the king’s hit list, running for his life, and he is joined by these, characterized as “distressed, indebted, and discontented.” You can always build a ministry if you don’t mind working with the three D’s: distressed, indebted, and discontented.

One of the praise songs goes:

All the poor and powerless, And the lost and lonely

And all the thieves will come confess

And know that you are holy.

Why is it this way? Well, perhaps because the rich are too busy building their bigger barns to enlist in ministry. Perhaps the powerful have empires to operate, and the weight of their responsibilities leaves precious little energy for worship and service. Perhaps those who are at ease have difficulty seriously considering difficult thoughts, and those who are comfortable and contented can hardly imagine the lives of those who aren’t.

Paul reminds the uppity church in Corinth of something similar. “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.” 1Cor. 1:26-29

If ministries were to follow Hollywood’s advice, we might recall that all we need are “a few good men.” The Bible seems to indicate that God would rather employ a mess of not-so-good men and women; men and women who are a mess. Why? So that the glory produced from the required redemption and restoration of such characters would not go to heroic, human figures, but to God. 

Oh, and those distressed, indebted and discontented characters that surrounded David. It appears that they were the raw materials developed into those of whom stories were told and songs were sung - into David’s mighty men, who lived, not for their own glory, but for the glory of their King. As we share ministry with those who need mercy, we pray to see lives so changed and God so glorified.

A Coach and a Savior