Top 7 Bible Verses About Optimism

What are some of the top Bible verses about optimism?  Here are my top 7.

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

This is a command from God to be strong and courageous.  We normally think of someone encouraging us to be strong and courageous but not as a literal command but this is what God told Joshua.  This command includes for Joshua to not fear or be dismayed because Joshua and Israel have in front of them a lot of challenges as they cross over into the Promised Land.  This command is from God and intended to go with him as God says it is for “wherever you go.”

Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Paul knows that the Roman Christians are enduring severe persecution and so this may be part of the reason that he tells them that whatever happens, know that God intends that all things will “work together for [their] good.”  The word Paul uses for “know” is not just a head knowledge but supernatural knowing because it is for those “who are called according to [God’s] purpose” so God is the One Who is responsible for what happens to them and all things, whether good or bad, will work out for their utmost best.  That applies to believers today.

Ephesians 5:18b-19 “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.”

If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we can be encouraging one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs and this singing and making melody to the Lord can keep us focused on the goal that God has in mind for us.  The psalms are almost certainly those from the Old Testament but the hymns and spiritual songs, I am not certain of but they could be songs that were taken and written out of Scripture for use during worship services or just during their breaking of bread and fellowship.

Acts 2:42-44 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  And all who believed were together and had all things in common.”

Do you notice a common thread throughout these Scriptures?  It is that they are together and having all things in common.  When believers are devoted to the apostle’s teachings and today those teachings comprise of the New Testament and are really the teachings of Christ (Acts 1:8; Matt 28:2), and they are having fellowship with one another, they can be optimistic because they know that their eternal future is secure (john 10:28-29).  The “breaking of bread” most certainly means worship and meeting together on a regular, consistent basis and knowing that they have faith in Christ as being in common with one another, so it is little wonder that they can rejoice in the knowledge that they are of the same mind.

Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

The greatest source of optimism there is can be found in the Word of God and the Berean’s were eager to search “the scriptures daily” to prove “whether those things were so.”  This unity of belief showed that they “received the word with all readiness.”  These Berean’s must have been good Bible students because they searched the Scriptures on a daily basis but what were they searching for?  Most certainly they were searching for (and finding) Christ and evidence that He was the Messiah Who came to save sinners of whom they also were.

Acts 28:30-31 “He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.”

The “he” in these verses is Paul who dwelt there for 2 whole years.  They apparently were coming to Paul as he “welcomed all who came to him” so that he could proclaim “the kingdom of God” while “teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ.”  He taught this “with all boldness and without hindrance.”  Paul must have felt optimistic because the Gentiles were coming to Him and they believed the gospel (Acts 28:28), unlike the Jews who actually knew the Scriptures better but still refused to believe.  I believe this last chapter was left open-ended because today the story of the church’s history and the work of the Holy Spirit in the acts of the church are still being written and I believe that this as of yet uncompleted book will be finished after Christ returns for His church.

Revelation 21:3-4 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Can anything be more encouraging than this?  Someday, perhaps soon, God will come down and dwell with His people in the New Jerusalem and God will be with them.  Like the tender, loving God that He is, “He will wipe away ever tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more” and even better, “neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.”  In the New Jerusalem, optimism won’t even describe the feeling at that time because all of “the former things have passed away” and as Jesus prophesied “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev 21:5).

Conclusion

Don’t we have every reason to be optimistic?  We have had our sins forgiven (Col 1:14).  We have had the righteousness of Christ imputed or accounted toward us (2 Cor 5:21) and we who have repented and trusted in Christ have eternal life (John 3:16).  This means that when Christ returns, we won’t have to face the so-called second death (Rev 20:14) and that gives believers every reason to have optimism about their future.

Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book  Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon