Is there ever a good time to be negative?
Oh, yes.
Remember Egypt?
The ancient Israelites had been slaves in Egypt. They were mistreated. They were beaten. They were forced to make bricks without straw. They begged God to deliver them.
And God did. Through a series of miraculous events, the Israelites were taken out of Egypt and headed to the Promised Land.
The trouble was, that they didn’t get magically whisked from Egypt to the Promised Land all of a sudden. They had to travel to get there. They had to travel through a desert. It wasn’t fun. They were tired and scared. They didn’t know where they were going or how long it would take to get there or whether they would ever arrive. The fear of the unknown was overwhelming.
So what did they do? They started pining for Egypt. They wanted to go back where they had been slaves! Suddenly, they started thinking about all the positive things about Egypt. “We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.” (Numbers 11:5)
That’s what happens when you’re on your way from something familiar but that was bad (or just no longer suitable), and you haven’t made it to the Promised Land yet. You start looking back and thinking that something old and familiar but terrible is preferable to the unknown. And when you’re not actually in that difficult situation anymore, your memory can get a little fuzzy and you start to remember things through rose-colored glasses.
Get rid of the rose-colored glasses.
That’s when it’s time to get negative. That’s when it’s time to remind yourself of all the reasons why you left “Egypt.” It wasn’t wonderful. It wasn’t so much better than where you are now. All the fish and cucumbers and leeks in the world did not make up for being enslaved. Do not go back! Look ahead, not behind!
I’m going through a desert season right now. Three months ago, we closed the business that we’d had for 17 years. It had been a wonderful thing for many years, but it wasn’t anymore. There were reasons why we closed it. But, although we’re on our way to a new season of life, it feels like we’re in the desert right now. I don’t like it. It’s uncomfortable. I want to go back to the old familiarity of having an established business and plenty of money.
Would it solve my problems? Nope. There were reasons why we left. Everything wasn’t wonderful. I’m remembering with rose-colopressing onred glasses because I don’t like the desert.pressing onpressing on
Press on.
If I turn back now, I won’t get to the Promised Land.
Forget what is behind. It’s not the answer, and it won’t fix your problems.
Press on and make it to the Promised Land!
This is not to say that when you know you’ve taken a wrong turn, you should refuse to make a U-turn and keep stubbornly driving into a ditch until you’re hopelessly stuck. All of us take wrong turns sometimes and need to be humble enough to turn around. But when you have a destination and you’re heading for the Promised Land, don’t give up when you get to the desert. Get negative about what you left behind. Press on. The future will be brighter if you don’t give up!