Faith positive always

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I want to share two things. First, I am hungry for more and don’t live in the past or dwell in the past, despite the great things I have seen the Lord do over the decades.

So, rather than looking back, I am always looking ahead. Rather than getting nostalgic and, with longing, thinking about the good old days, I am anticipating the next thing God will do.

As I understand His words: because I am hungry for more, I have a reason to live and to thrive. Something holy drives me and carries me. I do not want to stagnate. Instead, I want to thrive and continue to grow.

This brings to mind the words of Paul, who wrote (concerning his ultimate spiritual vision), “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).

The athlete, with his or her eye on the prize, has a reason to train, a reason to get up early in the morning and go on long runs, and a reason to sacrifice and practice discipline and seek to get better each and every day. There are great goals to be reached tomorrow, so they live with all their might today.

In that same spirit, I’ve heard many believers say, “I’m not going to retire; I’m going to refire.” That same spiritual hunger renews them day by day. There’s more coming, and I am doing my best to be part of it.

I believe in unrealistic optimism, and I intend to stay that way. That’s because, as I read the Word, I understand that the wheat and weeds grow together, with righteousness and wickedness only intensifying as we get closer to the end of the age (see Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43).

And so, when I see great wickedness, I also look for great righteousness. What I do know is that God is working amid the darkness. Put another way, if Satan is visibly active, all the more is the Lord Himself active.

This kind of positivity is life-giving and refreshing, contrasting with that hopeless depression that is draining and destructive. As Proverbs 15:13 says, “A happy heart makes a face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.”

Of course, not everyone is wired like this, and some, by nature, tend to be less optimistic and less forward-minded. On the other hand, the Bible states plainly that fullness of joy is found in God’s presence and that joy is our strength (Psalm 16:11; Nehemiah 8:8). Plus, in the Lord, there is eternal hope, as the light always triumphs over the darkness, whether sooner or later (John 1:5; 1 John 2:8).

So, my friends, be encouraged today, and, in Jesus, live life to the full. God has called us to thrive, no matter the trial, the challenge, the difficulty, the hardship or the pain. As impossible as it might seem at times, God will give us wings to fly (see Isaiah 40:31

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