Pessimism is a tendency or habit of seeing the worst in situations, things, and people. It’s one of the many threats to our contentment and fulfillment in life. People who feel this way are generally unhappy with their lives, and they have little to no confidence about the future. So, for them, pessimism, rather than thankfulness, becomes an approach to life. It’s an approach that locks them into a vicious cycle of putting negativity out there and then receiving negativity back. Their hearts don’t seem to grasp the light of Christ, and they are cut off from the revelation that would transform them. Needless to say, this is not the Christian way. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should be confident, optimistic, overjoyed, and fulfilled in this life of faith, because this is the life his sacrifice and resurrection made available to us.
If we’re not living a fulfilled and abundant life, it’s not God’s fault. This may not sound all that comforting, but the reality is that it is. Jesus Christ teaches us in John 10:10 that God sent him to the earth to make a more than abundant life available to all of us. Our Heavenly Father delights in blessing His children with His never-ending supply of goodness. He’s not holding us back or withholding His blessings from us. Psalm 84:11(NLT) tells us, “For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” The question we have to ask ourselves is whether we see God this way. Do you believe that He is your sun and shield, and that He wants to see you healthy, happy, and whole in every area of your life? He absolutely does. When the reality of His love and desire to see us blessed hits our hearts, our perspective about ourselves and our lives will change, and we will shift away from pessimism and leave it behind.
A change in perspective is the change in our thoughts and feelings that cause our lives to shift. Many people have refused to believe that such a thing is possible. They believe every circumstance, situation, or negative outcome is caused by outside influences or people, and they don’t believe they have any control over this. In this way, feeling and thinking in a negative or pessimistic way places us under the mercy of external forces. Our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, didn’t live that way, and God doesn’t want us living that way either. Our Great Redeemer lived with authority and walked by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through His sacrifice and resurrection, he made it available to walk through our lives the very same way.
Hard times, challenges, and obstacles do happen in life, and most of us realize this. They can sting us but they shouldn’t steal our joy. When we allow disappointment or heartbreak to become wounds that fester internally, we sometimes acquiesce to the level of thinking that everything is bad and that disappointment is always just around the corner.
Proverbs 23:7(NKJV) says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Thoughts in our hearts are those that we believe. For instance, if you believe that your life is bad, then that belief comes from thoughts in your heart. It comes from the place in your heart where you have chosen to believe the wrong thing, because you are believing the opposite of what God says in His Word. Our Heavenly Father declared in Ephesians 2:10(NLT), “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” You are God’s masterpiece, and He created your life for good. As believers that want to please Him, we must speak life and adamantly refuse to speak and think thoughts of death over ourselves. We must believe and say what God believes and says about us.
Romans 10:17 gives us extremely important insight to the human mind and heart, and their impact on living a blessed existence. This verse tells us that faith comes by hearing God’s Word. Faith comes where God’s Word is trusted and believed, and when it comes, things happen! We are created in God’s image, and this is the pattern of operating He’s laid out for us. He created us in such a way that our minds hold the key to our faith, and our faith in Him holds the key to the outcomes we receive in life. When we know this, we then become careful observers of how and what we think, because we understand that how and what we think greatly impacts our quality of life.
Heavenly Father tells us in Philippians 4:8(NLT), “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” This is the way we’re to discipline our thought-lives so that our external reality can mirror our internal reality. Only you can change your thoughts so that your mind is renewed to God’s Word. Contrary to what you might think, no other person in your world has greater authority over your thoughts and feelings than you. So, if you believe something about yourself, you’ll generally accept your own words and thoughts before you will any other person. If you’re believing the wrong things, make the shift to believe what God says. Give yourself the gift of changing your heart and mind to think and feel gratitude and faith. When you do, you’ll find life cooperating with you as you embrace the fulfillment and contentment of Jesus Christ.∎
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“Increasing Your Fulfillment in Life”, written by Reverend Fran Mack. Edits by Kim Times and K. Stephens for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.