An abundance of faith

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV)

 Different people often view situations in different ways, ranging from pessimistic to overly optimistic, and everything in between. There are many situations in which it really helps to have an abundance of faith and a good deal of positiveness and optimism. Realistically, we all have to continually deal with and handle problems, and if we don’t approach them with persevering faith, it’s easy to get dragged down and become negative. —Particularly when they’re difficult or serious problems.
 It’s not good for you spiritually to allow the problems of life to overwhelm your faith and get you discouraged and pull you down. It really takes faith to be able to rise out of the morass or abyss of our negative situations and help others do the same.
 That’s another characteristic of having a lot of faith: you don’t worry so much about things. Some people seem to always be trusting the Lord. They hardly ever worry about things, but just figure that everything’s going to come out all right in the end, and it usually does! Because that’s the principle of faith. “If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.” (Mark 9:23) —Maria Fontaine [1]

 Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death. ―Nelson Mandela

Anchor  Faith and Circumstances