Optimism is a cheerful frame of mind that enables a tea kettle to sing though it's in hot water up to its nose. Faith is essential to our happiness. It is a gift from God that He makes available to anyone who wants it. All you have to do to get it is ask Him. Here's a nices selection derived from the writings of Virginia Brandt Berg.

I once talked with a woman who said she tried very hard to think only positive thoughts, but she was never able to keep it up for long. Even when she managed to appear optimistic, inwardly she was often in turmoil. Her self-help approach to positive thinking excluded God, so when things went wrong, she didn't have anything solid to hold on to.

That may seem paradoxical—faith in God being something substantial—but it's true. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). In the face of difficulty and disappointment, faith is far more effective than mere mental exercise because it is backed by promises that God has made in His Word—promises that bring about tangible results when believed and applied to real-life situations.

These promises not only have the power to change problem situations; they also have the power to change us. The Bible tells us to "be transformed by the renewing of the mind" (Romans 12:2). It is through those "exceedingly great and precious promises" that we "may be partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4).

We can, by an act of our will, take our mind off of negative thoughts. Unless we fill that void, however, the negative thoughts will rush back in. What should we replace those negative thoughts with? What is more positive or more powerful than the living Word of the living God? When coupled with prayer, the uplifting, transforming Word of God can give us victory over every ugly, negative thought and its consequences.

As we make a consistent effort to replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts from God's Word, it will become a habit; we will learn to—as the Bible puts it—"bring your thoughts into captivity" (2 Corinthians 10:5).

This is very difficult to accomplish in the tumult of the world. We don't find the mind of God on the streets of social life or in the hobby shop. To connect with Him, find a place where there are no distractions. "When you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" (Matthew 6:6).

When we come aside from the temporal things that distract and harass us, and there in the presence of God we put our mind on the things of God, the transforming power of God then begins to work in us, and we are changed, renewed. There is no place where the mind can be as fully renewed as in the secret place of prayer, alone with God.

 

So long as we believe in our heart of hearts that our capacity is limited and we grow anxious and unhappy, we are lacking in faith. One who truly trusts in God has no right to be anxious about anything. By Paramahansa Yogananda