{"id":112090,"date":"2023-09-04T16:42:19","date_gmt":"2023-09-04T20:42:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/discovergrace.com\/?p=112090"},"modified":"2023-09-19T17:09:58","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T21:09:58","slug":"confessions-of-a-pessimist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/discovergrace.com\/confessions-of-a-pessimist\/","title":{"rendered":"Confessions of a Pessimist"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; column_link_target=&#8221;_self&#8221; column_position=&#8221;default&#8221; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; width=&#8221;1\/1&#8243; tablet_width_inherit=&#8221;default&#8221; animation_type=&#8221;default&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221; border_type=&#8221;simple&#8221; column_border_width=&#8221;none&#8221; column_border_style=&#8221;solid&#8221;][vc_column_text]<script src=\"https:\/\/static.elfsight.com\/platform\/platform.js\" data-use-service-core defer><\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"elfsight-app-ab57e6a4-7711-4168-9b6c-aec205b30d7d\"><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I tend to judge optimistic people. I\u2019ve never admitted that out loud, but here are four things I secretly assume about them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>They must either be \u2026\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In denial.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flaky.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Young and naive.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">or \u2026Faking it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s just always seemed more honest to be pessimistic to me. Once, our family raced to the Chuluota woods to help friends find their runaway chihuahua. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Chihuahua!) <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Later, I heard that another mom spent the car ride regaling her children with stories about how God can do the impossible. \u201cGod can save the dog, kids! Let\u2019s pray!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Meanwhile, as I navigated my minivan deeper into the Chuluota jungle, I turned down the radio and said, \u201cBrace yourselves, children. The dog is most likely dead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It just felt more honest!<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My Struggle with Psalm 23<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As I read David\u2019s most famous Psalm, I\u2019m with him right up until the end. I love the green pastures and still waters. I appreciate the dark valley \u2013 the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">honest <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">admission of suffering. The enemies, the oil, the overflowing cup \u2013 I\u2019m good with all of it, until the very last verse: \u201cSurely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life \u2026\u201d (Psalm 23:6).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surely? But how can you be so sure, David? What if sorrow and disappointment follow me? What if that terrible thing that keeps me up at night never goes away? What if the worst happens? This sounds a lot like blatant optimism.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can feel my eyes narrowing as I run down my list: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Was David young and naive when he wrote this Psalm? Lying? Totally in denial? Flaky? (He <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">did<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> dance down the street in his underwear once \u2026 )<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The CSB translation is even more aggressively optimistic: \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life \u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well now, that definitely can\u2019t be true!\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can it?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Secret to True Optimism<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David is an anomaly when it comes to my theories about optimistic people. Actually, he was <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> young when he wrote that Psalm. He was King, and not just a king accustomed to the finer things in life. He was a king accustomed to being hunted like an animal and wanted dead by countless enemies, including his own son (2 Samuel 17-18). Speaking of children, David\u2019s kids didn\u2019t dabble in after-school gossip and back-talk. They dabbled in incest, rape, murder, and tyranny (2 Samuel 13-15).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David couldn\u2019t have been naive and flaky. He couldn\u2019t have been in denial, or a liar, because we see him weep and doubt and wrestle with God all over the Bible (Psalm 12, 13, 22, 44). Say what you will, David calls a spade a spade. Which can only mean one thing \u2013 there\u2019s a fifth option. Some optimists (perhaps we should say, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">true optimists<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) aren\u2019t filled with lies and fairy dust. They\u2019re filled with faith and truth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The older I become, the more I see this circle of optimism. Stick with me here: You start out young and optimistic. (For example \u2026 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who needs premarital counseling?! We\u2019re in love!) <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Life slaps you in the face and somewhere in your thirties, idealism gives way to realism. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(We need marriage counseling.) <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Around<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">forty, realism might slip into pessimism. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Marriage stinks. Life stinks, etc.) <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BUT \u2026 if you can fight the good fight and persevere, you actually end up all the way back at optimism. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Sit down, son, let me tell you why marriage is worth fighting for \u2026 )\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This time, the optimism is unshakeable, because you\u2019ve weathered the storms with Jesus, and you truly believe His promises. This is why everyone loves to be around Christians in their sixties and seventies. Nothing scares those people! They know the faithfulness of Jesus, not just in their heads, or even their hearts, but in their very <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bones<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. His truth is in their marrow. It is their lifeblood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are the people who laugh at the days to come, who have a quiet confidence when it feels like the sky is falling. They pat your head and promise you it is possible to survive divorce, death, infertility, and even middle school. You see, fake, denial-based optimism isn\u2019t the only thing that lies. Pessimism lies, too. Pessimism says, \u201cThis terrible thing will destroy me. This terrible thing is bigger than God. This terrible thing is the only thing in my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the truth is, God\u2019s heart toward His children is always gentle and lowly, full of love and abounding in compassion (Matthew 11:29, Psalm 103:8). He doesn\u2019t chase us with punishment and payback, but <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">only goodness and mercy.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only goodness and faithful love will pursue God\u2019s children all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sometimes the worst doesn\u2019t happen. Sometimes the best does. Sometimes it\u2019s good to dance in your underwear. And sometimes, as was the case in the Chuluota woods, the dog really is alive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visit<\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/discovergrace.com\/next\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">discovergrace.com\/next<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to learn more about the ministry of Grace, find a local campus near you, and take your next step toward Christ.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row type=&#8221;in_container&#8221; full_screen_row_position=&#8221;middle&#8221; column_margin=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_tablet=&#8221;default&#8221; column_direction_phone=&#8221;default&#8221; scene_position=&#8221;center&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_align=&#8221;left&#8221; row_border_radius=&#8221;none&#8221; row_border_radius_applies=&#8221;bg&#8221; overflow=&#8221;visible&#8221; overlay_strength=&#8221;0.3&#8243; gradient_direction=&#8221;left_to_right&#8221; shape_divider_position=&#8221;bottom&#8221; bg_image_animation=&#8221;none&#8221;][vc_column column_padding=&#8221;no-extra-padding&#8221; column_padding_tablet=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_phone=&#8221;inherit&#8221; column_padding_position=&#8221;all&#8221; column_element_direction_desktop=&#8221;default&#8221; column_element_spacing=&#8221;default&#8221; desktop_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; tablet_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; phone_text_alignment=&#8221;default&#8221; background_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; background_hover_color_opacity=&#8221;1&#8243; column_backdrop_filter=&#8221;none&#8221; column_shadow=&#8221;none&#8221;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":112135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,46,91,105,106],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-112090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-doubt","8":"category-magazine","9":"category-psalm-23","10":"category-sin","11":"category-spiritual-growth"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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