We do so many Christians walk around feeling defeated?

To me this is one of the saddest things to see.  Christians walking around feeling defeated.  Christians walking around with no hope.  Why do so few Christians use the power that they have been given?

Acts 1:4-8(NKJV)

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 

for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 

And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

We have the Holy Spirit!  God's Spirit here to guide us and help us.  Those aren't just words.  There is a real power that we can draw on!  So why do so many not do so? 

I wish I knew the answer to that.  How do we get people to draw on the Power of the Holy Spirit?  How do we get Christians to live in hope?  It just baffles me because it should be our natural state of being. 

We should get up every morning EXPECTING this day to be better than the last one!  Not in some fake or forced way but in a truly natural and believing way.

As we have been going through a change of season for the last year it has been pretty tough.  But it has never been hopeless.  In fact the ultimate victory is a given in my mind.  So why is that?  Why do I not doubt that in the end we will overcome and life will be even better than it was in the past when so many others live in hopelessness? 

I'm going to offer some thoughts but before I do I want to say that this makes me a bit uncomfortable because I am going to offer some examples from my life and I don't want it to come off as bragging.  It is not meant to be that way.  I simply offer it as examples of what I do differently than those who are hopeless that may explain the difference in our outlooks.

First off I have always been a pretty optimistic person.  Even when I got my right eye shot out when I was 11 it didn't really affect me or slow me down.  I suppose the only way I can explain that is that it is the personality that God gave me.  So I will acknowledge that based on some of the personality traits that God blesses us each with some of us will have a head start over others in this regard.  But I believe that this is the only part that we don't have any control over. 

I am in the Word constantly and consistently and have been most of my life.  I have read the Bible though so many times I have lost count.  I know the promises that Jesus has made.  I believe He is who He says He is.  I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that when Jesus says He has my back….He has my back! 

But more importantly than knowing about the promises that Jesus made in an intellectual way, I long ago accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior.  Or to say it more plainly, I asked Jesus to come into my life and lead me.  I began to have a personal relationship with Jesus.   When I accepted Jesus I got the Holy Spirit that is referred to in the Scripture above. 

Have you done that yet?  Have you asked Jesus to come in to your life?  If not, why not now?  Would you like to have Jesus help guide your life?  Just have a conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus…."

Now some of you are probably saying "but there are many Christians who have accepted Jesus too and they are struggling.  How come?".

Unfortunately many Christians go to church on Sunday but never open a Bible on their own the rest of the week.  How do they expect to know the promises of God and stand on them when they don't make an effort to build a relationship with God and draw closer to Him? 

The Bible gives us clear instructions on how to succeed in life.  All you have to do is follow the formula.  One of the major themes of Proverbs is get wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.  How many people who are struggling, especially financially, make a consistent effort to learn new things to give them an edge to get ahead?   

Instead many Christians sit around waiting for things to magically get better.  They send around things on the internet like, "send this to 10 people and God will bless you" as if God is some sort of lottery or magic talisman.  It doesn't work like that. 

Lastly I think it is a mind set.  The Bible tells us that we are hung by the tongue, snared by the words or our mouths.  How many times have you heard a Christian say things like "If I didn't have bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all."?  Or when something bad happens "that's just my luck, nothing ever goes right for me.". 

Are statements like that consistent with standing on the promises of God?  When you say things like that you are basically saying God's a liar.  You're saying that you don't really believe He has your back.  Is it any wonder things don't work out the way you would like? 

Instead, expect good things to happen, put in the work and the effort, and good things usually do happen. Stand on the promises of God.  And get into the Word more so you know exactly what those promises are.  Get to know God!