PAUL THE OPTIMIST
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us...But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ...Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.”~ 1Cor. 15:57; 2 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:28; 8:37
Someone has defined an optimist as one who is falling from a twenty-five story building and, as he is passing the tenth floor says, “Everything is ok so far.” Paul was such a man. Who can read the above texts and deny it? You might say he received this trait by osmosis. That is from the Eternal Optimist, Jesus Christ! This coveted characteristic was absorbed into every area of his being, from his union with his Lord.
Paul didn’t stick his head in the sand and pretend that the present conditions were non-existent; his eyes were wide open to all that was happening in his world. No one painted a darker picture of the events transpiring in his day. But that did not put him in the category with the pessimist; it simply meant he was a realist. Paul was one, as Peter puts it, “[who could] see afar off.” He wore spiritual bifocals.
The old man saw past the blackness of the present times to a glorious, bright and shining future. God had absolute credibility with Paul in the promises He made concerning how things were going to work out! His faith was centered on things not seen as yet. Paul fed his soul on the pledged Word of God. Where others saw difficulties, Paul saw opportunity. Pessimists do not make for inspiring leaders.
As God’s elect, we can see a silver lining in every dark cloud; being assured the sun is behind each, ready to peek its head through, as soon as the clouds pass. The spirit of hope traveled with the heavenly ambassador everywhere he journeyed— cold, desolate circumstances, appalling corruption, tragic human needs— none deterred him from saying in each case, “Be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” Even when all hope was taken away, he still believed in hope!
by an Aged Saint