Let’s be honest, we are living in a scary time. Aside from the fact that there is a global pandemic, there is also upheaval, change in lifestyle and routine, inability to be with loved ones, concerns for the health of people and the health of the economy. Because the current generations have not experienced anything like this, there is a lot of uncertainty and a feeling that maybe the world will be different when we come through it – whenever that will be. 

Now, with all that in mind, we must make a choice. Do we choose to be overcome by the negative, or do we choose to be optimistic? 

Optimism, by definition, is – hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something. 

There are so many factors that can push our thinking over to the side of pessimism. Those factors have loud voices that can take over our minds and cause anxiety and fear and hopelessness. In order to combat this, we need to be actively and continuously focusing on the things that give us hope and security. 

The truth is, scary things do happen, and we have to take them into account. But we also need to bring them to heel. We can accept things and also not allow them to control the way we feel in our lives. Sometimes this is a battle, but it is a battle we should fight. 

Anxiety and desperation can be debilitating and harmful to our own quality of life and the lives of those around us. By actively choosing to be optimistic, we are facing our fears with hope. We are saying, “Yes, the times are uncertain, but I won’t sacrifice my joy and my energy to be overcome by fear.” 

The Bible gives us one very big reason to be optimistic – Jesus. 

Jesus came in order to crush the hold of death over us. So, even though our earthly bodies have an end, we are eternal. And one day we will not die, but rather, we will go to be with Him, in a place of inconceivable beauty, full of purpose, without pain and loss and fear. 

All we have to do is look to Him, and we have a reason to hope, a reason to be optimistic.