A. W. Tozer wrote, “Strange as it may be, the holiest souls who have ever lived have earned the reputation for being pessimistic.” Have you ever considered that spiritual growth might require you to start being more pessimistic about some things?
Joseph was thankful that his brothers had sold him into Egyptian slavery. Such “useful” things are obviously harder to attribute to God and to give Him thanks for. But Paul said, “In everything, give thanks,” and I believe he meant just what he said.
Sometimes, the best way God can teach us that we need His help is by letting us do without it for a while. After that, we’re in a better position to be grateful for the help when it does come. And it surely will come, when God sees the time is right.
Those who can see only what is happening at the present moment are prone to depression. We must develop our vision to look outside of ourselves and our private discouragements. If we have the eyes to see, there are wonderful things to hope for.
Zaccheus had a disadvantage; we have our own. He overcame his hindrance by the intensity of his interest; so can we. From this “wee little man,” then, we should learn to reach forward to God with a passion that will not be denied.
Anguish is simply an indication of unmet needs. In this world, even as Christians, we will have needs that are achingly unfulfilled. As long as we cry humbly and reverently, it is not wrong to cry honestly and deeply, “How long, O Lord, how long?”
What we call “happiness” is nothing compared to what really deserves that name, and it must surely be “exasperating” to our Father to see us hang on to our happiness so tightly and pay so little attention to treasures that are so much more precious.
We can do without happiness if we have to. It is not the “summum bonum” in life, the ultimate good. There is simply nothing in this life that we can’t do without. God is all we have to have. So things like happiness can be relinquished, if need be.
I like to think of hope as the active exercise of faith. It doesn’t mean never being in darkness or doubt. It means that in darkness or doubt we choose to look at the bigger picture, and based on the bigger picture, we decide to keep going forward.
As Solomon observed, that the “generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” C. S. Lewis said it differently, but no less truly, “Nothing that you have not given away will ever truly be your own.”