Pessimism Never Won A War

The other day I was finishing my lunch at a local Chinese Restaurant and decided to take a look at my fortune cookie.  In all honesty, I don’t like the way they taste and I don’t believe that some pre-packaged dried up wafer can influence my future; but, I decided to amuse myself.  Lo and behold when I read the message I was inspired.  On that itty-bitty piece of paper was something pretty insightful:  “Pessimism never won a war”.  Wow!  What a concept!  Successful people aren’t the ones continually talking about how bad things are and how we have no chance to be victorious; that is reserved for those who see what is possible and believe that it is possible!

As I reflected on this concept I was led back to a statement made by Jesus right before His ascension.  As He commissioned His disciples’ ministry He said, “… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).  Do you think that they believed His battleplan was feasible?  How could these backwoods folks from an insignificant (and insolate) nation change one of the greatest empires in the history of the world?   Yet, they bought into His optimism and turned the world upside down for the Lord!  They accepted their calling it and they did it! 

As we look at today’s society do we do so with optimism or pessimism?  Do we believe that with the help of the Lord that we can make a difference or are we convinced that our community and our world are too far gone to be saved?   What will we do with the challenge “… you will be my witnesses in St. Mary’s County, in Maryland, in the United States and throughout the end of the earth”?  I am a believer in self-fulfilling prophecies – if we perceive our efforts as being doomed from the beginning they will most likely fail; but, if we believe that we can accomplish something we will probably find a way to make it happen. 


We have to be ready to change the world.  We have to believe that it is possible and that we have been given the tools to accomplish the task!  The same message of salvation that turned the world topsy-turvy in the First Century is still available to us.  The same Holy Spirit that led a revival 2000 years ago is alive and well today.  The question isn’t “can we do it”; the only issue is “will we do it”!

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