Positive thinking, as the world teaches it, is an optimism based on mood, self-talk, or imagined outcomes. It tries to generate hope without truth and confidence without foundation. But for a Christian, positive thinking is entirely different. It is a rational response to divine revelation. If God has promised something, then to expect it is not merely acceptable, but necessary. Faith does not operate in the shadows of uncertainty. It lays hold of the word of God and draws from it a view of the world that may seem unrealistic to the weak, but is in fact more real than the world they see. The believer does not deny the existence of trouble or pain in the world. He denies that these things have the final word. He knows that things must become better because of his faith in God. 

The tragedy is that many people confuse negative thinking with realism. They think that to be cautious, cynical, or restrained is to be wise. But Scripture shows the opposite. When the Israelites refused to enter the promised land, they considered it realistic. God called it rebellion. When the disciples panicked in the storm, they thought they were being rational. Jesus said they had no faith. To think negatively in the presence of God’s promise is not prudence. It is defiance. The person who believes must renew his mind until expectation becomes natural, until joy is not forced but fluent. Positive thinking, in the biblical sense, is not wishful thinking. It is agreement with what God has said. It is what the Bible calls faith.