Optimist or Realist?

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re you an optimist or a realist?  Well, actually, you should be both.  If you are an optimist, and things don’t turn out the way you expect they should, you’ll be crushed.  If you are a realist, well, whatever happens you will be a disappointment because you already knew it was going to turn out bad.  You should have faith in God but come to grips with the reality of your current situation.  Google “the Stockdale Paradox”.  Hey, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego prove my point. In Daniel 3:17, the three Hebrew young men “…said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”  What boldness!  They knew that God COULD deliver them, but they also knew that He might not.  But either way, they were not going to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s vain idol.  They were optimistic AND realistic, and God honored them with deliverance.  So, what about you?  Are you going to trust God if He delivers you?  And are you going to trust God if He doesn’t deliver you?  I hope so, because God deserves your faith and trust REGARDLESS of what happens in your life.  Hey, trust God, and you’ll never be sorry that you did.