Beyond Optimism

May 7, 2008

By Jerry Scott

“The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun,” sings Little Orphan Annie in the musical “Annie.” In spite of her sorrows she hopes for a better day, a day of sunshine. She is the prime optimist. Who doesn’t love an optimist? Those who choose to see the silver lining on every cloud are a gift to the rest of us!

But don’t confuse optimism with faith. Both qualities may appear the same from a distance, but they are not. Optimism, as encouraging as it may be, cannot change the reality of life. Yes, the person with the sunny outlook may weather the storms a little better than others, and may find more friends to travel life’s roads, but the optimist still must deal with falling Dow averages, broken hearts, disease and death.

Optimism is built on the potential of human will and the hope that greater effort can produce a positive outcome. Faith, on the other hand, rests squarely on the Person and promise of God. Faith always trusts in a purposeful God and believes the biblical truth that He is working in all things to accomplish something for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

We may think we are expressing faith when we make bold assertions about what we think God will do about situations we want changed. “God will heal me, I am sure of it,” a person claims. Is that an optimistic statement or a declaration of faith? One cannot tell just from the words. If it is just an expression of general hope, it is mere optimism. If it is an expression of what the Spirit has whispered into that person’s soul, it is a statement of faith!

We are urged in Scripture to pray boldly, to pray about anything and everything, to ask our Father for His favor — but always with humility, always remembering who is God and who is not! Do not settle for mere optimism. Build great faith! How?

Get to know God — in prayer, through meditation, from the pages of the Scriptures, in worship. Give your life over to God. Tell Him you are delighted simply to belong to Him, to be used by Him, to serve His sovereign purpose. Faith allows us to go from good to great in God’s service. Faith lets us abandon our plans and demands to discover the adventure of being part of what God is doing.

“I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-21, NLT).

— Jerry D. Scott is senior pastor at Washington (N.J.) Assembly of God.