May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NIV
My wife and I are opposites in almost every category. One that is most stark is the optimist vs. pessimist scale. When I wake up, my default attitude is “something good can happen.” Sure the challenges of the day often tamp down my enthusiasm, but that’s where my brain naturally begins. My wife’s starting line is “Don’t let anything bad happen,” and she goes about her day pushing back the chaos that threatens. I’m not sure which attitude is more accurate to reality, but I know that pessimists often defend their position. They say, “I’m not a pessimist. I’m a realist.” As a bona fide optimist, I think that my rosier worldview is more true to reality, but let’s not argue over it. Both sides of the debate have strengths and weaknesses. Both personalities are baked into the cake and cannot be altered.
When I elevate optimism as a goal for my kids, I am not referring to their personalities. If they are naturally like my wife, that’s fine with me. I wouldn’t want to change them. If they are naturally positive, that’s great, too. A father should teach them both how to compensate for their predisposition to more accurately navigate life.
I am talking about an optimistic worldview based on a Biblical understanding of God’s character, His assessment of human value, His plans for the world, and our future with Him. Everyone can be optimistic about this Good News. God has communicated His character through the Scripture. He is just. He is loving. He is patient. He is mighty. He created the universe and humanity to have a relationship with us. The Bible says He loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us and restore the relationship that had been lost through sin. He is working all things together to complete this plan to bring humanity back to Himself. How awesome is that?! Salvation is offered to each of us as a gift. We have hope for a good future. We have hope in a good God. Hope. That is the kind of optimism I want my kids to possess.
In light of this exceedingly good news, even the pessimist can choose hope. Optimism is a choice. The circumstances of life may be very broken, but God loves us. This truth overrides a mountain of trials, conflict, and burden. The present version of the world may be plagued with evil and suffering, but God is actively working His redemption plan. He is making all things new! See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 NIV. The words of this beautiful old hymn speak to this hope.
“My Hope is Built on Nothing Less”
by Edward Mote (1834)
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.
In ev’ry rough and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the vale.
When all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. [Refrain]
Not earth, nor hell, my soul can move;
I rest upon unchanging love.
I trust his righteous character,
his counsel, promise, and his pow’r. [Refrain]
When he shall come with trumpet sound,
oh, may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. [Refrain]
