From the Apostle's Pen

Defeating an Attitude of Pessimism

By Apostle Joseph Hobbs, Th.D.
Num 13:27-28

Num 13:27-28
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest
us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities
are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
(KJV)

Num 13:30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go
up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. (KJV)

"When confronted with a Goliath-size problem, which way do you respond: "He's
too big to hit," or, like David, "He's too big to miss" Unknown

I believe that each of us should come to grips with the truth that the greatest
battleground of any person is the mind. It is through the mind that we gain or
lose perspective of the situations in life that we are facing. It is more
importantly the attitude that we have concerning situations in life that will
ultimately determine our condition when the test is completed.

An attitude of pessimism causes the inevitable likelihood of defeat to squash
all hopes of being successful in a given situation. The word pessimism implies a
tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible
view: There are too many who fail to fully enjoy life because they have chosen
an attitude of pessimism.

To defeat an attitude of pessimism we must have a right view of God and of his
Word. God must be received and accepted as the supreme fact of the universe.
This means that we must be consciously assured that there is nothing greater
than God period. We must accept the fact  that our faith in God's person,
presence, and power reaps positive results. Finally, we must mentally shift when
negative doubts and negative thoughts begin to cloud our thinking processes.
This mental shift will derail thoughts of defeat and pessimism. Through the
power of the Word of God in our hearts we will be able to bring every contrary
thought into the obedience of the knowledge of Christ.