My Easter Pessimism?
I don't know about you, but I am basically a pessimist. It seems rather easy to see that everything in life is getting worse. Of course there are some good things happening, but they are the exception rather than the rule. We are told that if we just elect the good guys, things will improve; if we just take this pill or eat the right foods and exercise we will feel better; if we follow the experts advice things will turn out all right. The engraving on a tombstone rather sums up life as we experience it; "See, I told you I was sick."
I am simply saying that pessimism is very easily justified. We all have many good reasons to think that tomorrow will be worse, not better, than today. But... was Jesus mistaken when He said: "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world?" (John 16:33)
Adam and Eve, on the day they disobeyed God, set the deadly pattern for their (and thus our) days to be all sorts of "tribulation." Every effort at finding personal peace and prosperity is challenged by the efforts of others looking for their own personal peace and prosperity. All our conflicts are fundamentally grounded in the selfishness of humans seeking to "be like God," as the Serpent promised. For the Jews, their conflicting efforts resulted in "400 years of slavery in Egypt;" "40 years wandering then dying in the wilderness;" "the glorious and gory victories and defeats of the rise and fall of Israel's fortunes." No matter how optimistic they tried to be, the "good days" never seemed to last.
Then came a day that seemed like the "last straw." Babylon entered Jerusalem, destroyed both the city and their beloved Temple. Then they marched at least half the population back to Babylon as exiled slaves. Faced with the prospect of never-ending slavery, hopeless pessimism reigned.
The prophet Jeremiah, who had warned of judgment if they did not repent of their selfish idolatry, was left in Jerusalem and wrote a letter to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. It was a letter of Biblical optimism. He said:
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.
10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile."
Notice three very important things in God's letter to the Jews in exile:
1. Their 70 years of exile were not what we pessimists would normally call pleasant circumstances. BUT... God had "sent them there."
2. Their "welfare," their multiplied family life, was what should be called "good" by anyone with even a little bit of optimism.
3. God was with them, fulfilling His promises to hear them and finally and wonderfully bless them.
My circumstances are nowhere near what the Jews in exile faced. But I confess that sometimes my hope is lost in pessimism. So I, and perhaps you too, need to remember:
1. God's listening and caring presence in my past, present and future is more important and valuable to me than the condition of my present circumstances.
2. The good hope of God's plans for my future are wonderful beyond my comprehension.
3. My pessimistic doubts are simply blindness to God's Glorious and Gracious optimistic plans for me.
At Easter, the followers of Jesus Christ thought all was lost. Jesus was brutally killed on a cross, buried and gone. But in that time of truly enormous disappointment, Jesus Christ conquered sin and death for all who were willing to repent and accept what Jesus did on our behalf. Jesus' resurrection on Easter morning should give us hope and optimism beyond anything the world can offer.
We may not know what the days just ahead of us will be like. But, knowing Jesus as our Savior, we know that our eternity is in His presence. What a privilege today to remember Our LORD's Death, and Resurrection until He comes. -938
all content by J Neil Evans
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