This article is driven by my overwhelming desire to respond to all those who in recent weeks have stopped by with heavy hearts, troubled by the turns life has taken, nervous, anxious, and on the verge of losing hope. May God encourage you.
Where is the world headed? What is going on? Daily someone or some group criticizes the morality and values that you and I as Christians stand by. Names once associated with terrorist like radical, extremist, narrow-minded, and exclusionist are now applied to anyone who doesn’t choose to remain “politically correct” in their views. While the fight in the courts continues, it appears that gay marriages will one day become accepted in America. The Ten Commandments are now an unwelcome sight in the public arena. A billboard proclaiming there is no God is applauded while the display of a cross in honor of a fallen officer is ruled illegal. Appointments of judges to Federal courts and the recent nomination and support for the next member of the Supreme Court tell a frightening story about the direction of the American legal system, particularly in its growing hostility toward Christianity.
Yet even within religious circles one wonders what’s going on, the Episcopal Church’s ordaining of homosexual bishops and clergy surely sends the message that the Bible no longer holds the truth. The financial giving (or lack thereof) among Christians across every denominational line is proof most folks within the church don’t believe what the Bible teaches on stewardship. The divorce rate in the Christian community mirrors that of those that never set foot inside the walls of any church.
To call the events of today disturbing would be an understatement of the grandest portion. If one focuses on the things mentioned above and a thousand other negative events that seem to occur daily in our lives, life seems to hold no hope. And the surveys support that opinion. In 1990 a national survey was taken in which seven out of ten people reported having hope in the future. A decade later in a national poll taken in the fall of 2001 by the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, only one in five reported they felt hopeful about the future. 2010 finds that 89% of all Americans have little or no hope that their future will be bright. An unbelievable drop from 70% to 11% in a mere twenty years.
Yet, today as America may very well be on the brink of self-destruction, I remain an optimist. I awake everyday to the possibility that today might be the day. I believe God is at work and will ultimately have His way. I look at life positively and hopefully.
The first reason I am an optimist is because I serve a God who is in control. The early church not only survived, but thrived in the midst of persecution. It was literally a national sport to throw the Christians to the lions as cheering crowds watched them be torn apart. The Roman roads were often lined with crosses on which Christians hung because they would not denounce Christ. Not only was abortion acceptable, a father could kill his child at any age. Homosexuality was completely accepted and practiced openly. The government was completely hostile toward Christianity and anyone who was a follower of Christ. Yet it was during this time of enormous opposition that the church grew and flourished more than at any other time in its’ history.
Christians did not expect the world to be friendly to them and their values — and neither should we. The movement of the Spirit of God is an unstoppable force. It does not matter how much opposition there is, God is in control and he will have his way. We keep thinking we have to have a “Christian” government for Christianity to thrive, but that is just not true, as history proves. My optimism is not in our government but in my God.
God is in control no matter how things look. That does not necessarily mean that America will always be prosperous or safe. It does not mean that our government will always be tolerant of the Christian faith or those who practice it. But it does mean that there is a God who is control and he will have the final word. And for that reason I am an optimist.
The author of Hebrews reminds us: “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).
Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The second reason that I am an optimist is because I stand on the promises of God. I not only believe that God is in control, I believe that he cares for me and you. We serve a God who has made great promises to us. The apostle Peter said, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:3-4).
John says to us: “And this is what he promised us — even eternal life” (1 John 2:25). Paul wrote: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
God assures us of his love for us with promises like: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2). Those are the words of a caring God who is promising to get us through all of the storms of life.
The third reason I am an optimist is because I will outlive this world. I have joy because I know that this world is not all there is. When this world is over, I will still be alive in a very real place called heaven. There is more to come. The Bible says, “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17). The Lord has said to us: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). God has promised us a hope and a future.
It is because of these reasons that I awake daily believing it is going to be a great day. I know that if I don’t wake up it’s going to be an even greater day. An optimist sees beyond this world. You understand what is important and what is not.
The Bible says, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
Life is going to get better,
Bro. Howard
