Pessimism

A negative and hopeless attitude, resulting either from viewing the world as being without God or from loss of faith in God.

The world may appear to be meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1:14 See also Ecclesiastes 1:1–11

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

Wisdom may be pointless

Ecclesiastes 1:17–18 See also Ecclesiastes 2:12–16

So I set my mind to know wisdom and madness and folly; I learned that this, too, is a pursuit of the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.

Pleasures may be empty

Ecclesiastes 2:1

I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good!” But it proved to be futile.

Work may be in vain

Ecclesiastes 2:17 See also Ecclesiastes 2:18–23, Ecclesiastes 4:4

So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

The world may seem corrupt and oppressive

Ecclesiastes 4:1 See also Ecclesiastes 4:2–3, Ecclesiastes 5:8–9

Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.

Loneliness can be depressing

Ecclesiastes 4:8

There is a man all alone, without even a son or brother. And though there is no end to his labor, his eyes are still not content with his wealth: “For whom do I toil and bereave my soul of enjoyment?” This too is futile — a miserable task.

Wealth is no answer

Ecclesiastes 5:10 See also Ecclesiastes 5:11–15, Ecclesiastes 6:1–6; Luke 12:18–20

He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.

Life is short and often miserable

Ecclesiastes 6:12 In the OT, before the resurrection hope was fully developed, this life seemed to be all that there was. See also 1 Chronicles 29:15; Job 7:6, Job 14:7–12, Job 14:18–22, Job 17:13–16

For who knows what is good for a man during the few days in which he passes through his fleeting life like a shadow? Who can tell a man what will come after him under the sun?

Suffering may lead to pessimism

Job 6:11 See also Job 30:26; Lamentations 3:16–18; Ezekiel 37:11

What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What is my future, that I should be patient?

Suffering may cause a sense of God's rejection

Job 14:18–19 See also Job 19:5–13

But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and a rock is dislodged from its place, as water wears away the stones and torrents wash away the soil, so You destroy a man’s hope.

The godless have no grounds for optimism

Ephesians 2:12 See also Job 8:13–15; Proverbs 10:24, Proverbs 11:7, Proverbs 24:19–20; Isaiah 19:3; Jeremiah 4:9; Matthew 7:26–27; 1 Thessalonians 4:13

remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

Examples of pessimism

The Israelites on hearing about the strength of the Canaanites

Numbers 13:31–33; Deuteronomy 1:28

Israel's enemies

Deuteronomy 2:25; Joshua 2:9

Naomi on her return to Israel

Ruth 1:21

The Israelites threatened by the Philistines

1 Samuel 17:11, 1 Samuel 13:6–7

Elijah at Mount Horeb

1 Kings 19:9–10

The men with leprosy at the gate of Samaria

2 Kings 7:4

Judah facing the threat from Aram and Israel

Isaiah 7:2

The Philistine cities on seeing Tyre's destruction

Zechariah 9:5

Thomas after the resurrection

John 20:24–25

Paul's shipboard companions during the storm

Acts 27:20

The antidote to pessimism is faith in God

Psalm 42:5; 2 Corinthians 4:13–16 See also Isaiah 41:10; Lamentations 3:21–24; 2 Corinthians 4:7–9

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him for the salvation of His presence.

And in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow, to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.