“A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed,” Proverbs 15:13.

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect,” Proverbs 12:12.

“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not,” Isaiah 53:3.

Is the Glass Half Empty or Half Full? This phrase is often used to indicate if a person is an optimist or a pessimist.

It’s used to determine how our perception can cause us to view the world around us in either a negative or positive viewpoint.

We all see things differently around us depending upon our own personal perception.

With the state of the world and how the current events are playing out, one could certainly view these things and determine that all is not well with the world and they could fall into a deep depression.

And yet there are some who in spite of the catastrophic things that continually happen, find a way of having a cheerful disposition.

It can make one wonder how each person views the world around them and finds a way to either cope or perhaps to even escape from what is happening.

One would either be foolish or blind to consider that all is well with the world and everything in it.

One would either need to bury their heads in the sand or keep their eyes and ears closed to the evils that are all around them every day.

And yet in spite of all of these things, there are some who find a way to view life in a positive way.

They jump out of bed and greet everyone with a smile and find a way to see the best in everything.

Do they find a way of ignoring what is going on around them, or do their thoughts somehow find a different road map?

We are told that even Jesus was a man of sorrows and was acquainted with grief. He didn’t ignore the plight of the homeless or the diseased and lame.

He looked unto those who were hurting and lost and offered them new life. But was He seeing the glass half empty or half full?

Certainly He rejoiced when He said to have the little children come unto Him.

Surely, He was at times light-hearted and jovial when eating with others or walking along some desert road.

But His thoughts and heart were always directed towards the Father.

He knew what was in the heart of man — He knew of their fallen nature and propensity towards selfishness and hatred. And yet, in spite of this, He offered unto them a new way, a new life, and a new perception.

I guess it all really does finally gets down to how we perceive things.

One can see the newly fallen snow and think of how cold and dreadful everything is going to be now, or they may see the freshness of moisture and beauty that comes with it.

But truly, our world is falling into judgment all around us. Each and every day we can see the deceit expanding and deepening.

In time everything we see around us will fall into a place of utter decay and destruction and yet, “even if the mountains fall into the sea, yet I sill will trust in thee.”

In spite of the impending darkness that is all around us, there are still the promises of God to be found.

Each and every day we are still greeted with a new sunrise that holds the new beginnings of a new day for us.

There are still miracles that happen all around us and good Samaritans find a way of helping others along the road of life.

My dad always used to say, “Expect the worst but hope for the best.” I always thought he was being pessimistic, but perhaps he was merely being realistic.

 

Selah,
~ Stephen Hanson

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Stephen Hanson of In His Truth Ministries came to the LORD is a special way in 1975 and has prophesied regularly since. In these end-time birthing pangs we are reminded that judgment must first begin with the household of God. Will we be prepared and ready?

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