“Turning a Negative Into a Positive”

Exodus 13:17-22

                                                               Sunday, April 29, 2012

Introduction: If you have ever been to a professional concert where there was a soloist, you know it is a pleasure to hear them play so beautifully. The soloist has practiced and played for many years to become the best they can be. It is amazing to hear them make difficult pieces sound almost easy. Yet, the truth is, for someone to become so accomplished takes many years of struggle and mistakes, and frustration. Being a musician myself I know that it is not easy to become so accomplished!

            Life is a lot like this. We want our life to be easy. We want only good to happen in our lives. We don’t want to make mistakes. We don’t want to struggle. We don’t want to have frustration./  But this morning we are going to see that it is actually the struggling and the mistakes, the frustrations and the negative events, that allow us to become all that God wants us to be and do all that God wants us to do!

I.                   Biblical Examples of Negative Events- (Ex. 13:17-22; Acts 15:36-41)

Biblical examples- There are many examples of this in the Bible. But let us

look at just a couple.

a.      The Israelites- In the book of Exodus we see that the Israelites were in

slavery in Egypt. They were in a very negative situation. Moses had gotten frustrated with the way the Egyptians treated his people. This actually led him to kill an Egyptian guard. After this he had to flee into the dessert. After spending some time with God, Moses was given a calling by God to stand up to the Pharaoh and ask for his people to be freed. After much struggle, and many plagues, the Pharaoh agreed to free them.

So off they went, heading towards the Promised Land. They are probably thinking that they are free, and life is going to be great, right? But soon into the journey they noticed that something wasn’t right. They weren’t going the short route; they were taking the longer road. They might have asked: How come Moses is taking us the long way around? How come we aren’t traveling the easier, shorter road? Exodus 13:17 tells us right off: “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, ‘If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.’”

            If you follow this story in Exodus, you will see that time and time again the people get frustrated and angry at their situation. They blame Moses and God for not giving them an easier road. But the truth is/   that going down the path that seemed easier, would have led them into a war with the Philistines, and they were not ready as a people to fight a war. Even more than that, God wanted Israel to become a nation, and it was going to take them time, along with some negative events, to prepare them for this next chapter of their existence.

            And yet, we see in this passage an important verse; verse 21: “The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.”/  Even though God was having them travel the longer road, God was right there with them providing for them all that they needed. He was guiding them by pillars of a cloud and fire. And as the story goes along, God provides them with laws, food, shelter, guidance, and on and on it goes.

b.      Paul and Barnabas- Let’s take a look at another example in the Bible. In

Acts 15:36-41, Paul and Barnabas were taking a break from their travels. It comes time to head off again, and Paul says to Barnabas: “Come, let us return and visit the believers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”/ Paul wants to go and visit those to whom he has led to the Lord; to those he has taught and encouraged. Barnabas seems willing, but wants to change the plans a little by bringing a man named John Mark with them. Paul does not want John Mark to come with them.

            Let us stop the story for a moment to understand who John Mark is, and why Paul doesn’t want him around. John Mark is Barnabas’ nephew. But John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia. It is not said why John Mark deserted them, or how he deserted them. But the fact is, he did desert them. And for Paul, he did not want to give John Mark another chance. Paul was in essence saying: “You let me down once, and I don’t want to risk having you let me down again!

            So what happens. Well, of course since John Mark is family, Barnabas is going to stick with him; Barnabas is going to give him another chance. And the scripture says in verse 39- “The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company…”/ Here we have a major struggle. Two important church leaders, Barnabas and Paul, have such a severe disagreement that they part ways!!  When you think of Paul, do you think of someone who would be so hard headed; so unforgiving? But this is exactly what happens in the story.

            The wonderful ending to this negative event is that Paul and Silas go off and continue to do great ministry. Paul is able to train Silas as a leader. And in regards to John Mark, he does indeed redeem himself. It just so happens that this disagreement let Barnabas have an opportunity to work one on one with John Mark and help him to grow into a faithful servant for God. Barnabas believed in John Mark, and in the end John Mark justified that belief. It is hard to know whether this would have come about had Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark went off together. We see that ultimately Barnabas, John Mark, and Paul reconcile.

II.                The Power of a Negative-

a.      The positive- We all have negative events that happen in our lives.

What are we to do about these negative events in our lives?

It is easy to talk about the negative events of others, but when it deals with you and me, when it gets personal, then this is another story. I know for me, it is true that I don’t want conflict, struggle and negative events to happen. In many ways they are not fun. But the truth is, they do exist. Sometimes they exist because God allows them to happen. Other times they exist because of my own wrong choices. Either way, we need to understand that God brings good, out of the negative events that occur.

       Let me give you a list of some positive outcomes that come from negative events.

• Without negative events we become complacent in life. When life is going

along easy, we tend to get bored and maybe even a little lazy. A negative event at this time can wake us up to what God is calling us to do.

• Negative events can also push us to new growth. There may be something in

our future that God wants us to do, and this negative event helps us to learn important lessons, or skills that will be needed.

• Negative events can help us to learn that we have gifts we didn’t know we

had. For example, let’s say that two people close to you are having a conflict and you are involved as well, but not directly. This is a negative situation in your life, but God may allow you to be the one to reconcile the two together. Through this experience you discover a gift you didn’t know you have. You discover that you can help people resolve their conflicts!

• Negative events can also build character. Example- In a Peanuts comic strip

Schroeder says to Charlie Brown: “Don’t be discouraged, Charlie Brown. These early defeats help to build character for later in life.” Charlie Brown then asks: “For what later on in life?” To which Schroeder replies: “For more defeats!” Charlie Brown then decides to go and see Lucy’s psychiatric booth for a second opinion. Lucy gives Charlie Brown this advice: “Adversity builds character. Without adversity a person could never mature and face up to all the things in life!” “What things,” Charlie Brown asks. “More adversity!” Lucy says. (Amusing Grace, #712).            The truth is, when we go through negative events, we mature and gain new insights into life. These adversities prepare us for future events in our lives.

• Negative events also help us to recognize areas of weakness or fear in our

lives. If  we seek to face these events with God’s help, then we will be stronger and more capable people and we will be prepared to do more for God and make a greater difference in this world.

• Negative events can also indicate leadership potential in us. When we are

able to face these events head on and work through them, we gain leadership skills.

• And negative events help to confirm future roles in our lives. There are

times when we go through a struggle, and because of going through this struggle we actually gain perspective about where God is leading us to a new place.

b.      Personal examples- I have had many negative events happen in my

life. Some very difficult, and some not so difficult. And it is easy to try to forget these negative events. It is easy to try to put them in the archives of my brain and lock them up. But the truth is, when we are willing to speak about them, look at them, remember them, we will begin to grow in ways that we can’t, if we hide them away. The truth is, when we deny the pain of our past, we really can’t grow in our present or our future. So I would like to share with you two examples of negative events in my past.

            The first is when I got to my twenties, and all my friends started getting married. Some even started having kids. I myself longed to be married; longed to find that special someone in my life. I too desired to have children. I believed I would make a good husband and father. But the problem was/  that I wasn’t finding that person to whom I wanted to marry. The good thing is that I wasn’t trying to force the issue. I finally gave it to the Lord in my late twenties and said if I didn’t ever get married, that would be okay. And I did mean this. I committed myself to serving God in ministry. This didn’t mean that I stopped looking to date, but it did mean that I stopped worrying about being married. Really, what led me to give it up to the Lord and stop worrying about it, was a bad dating situation I had right before I met Tami. The person I was dating decided to go back with her boyfriend whom she had stopped seeing right before we dated! It was quite a surprise to me when she told me this!! ….Not too long after this, I met Tami!! And I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to have Tami as my wife.

            The second event is right after I finished seminary and was thinking about looking for a ministry call. I was working at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Camarillo, and they were in the process of looking for an associate pastor. I thought the job would be perfect for me, and it would mean that Tami and I could stay where we were. I got a call one day from someone on the committee telling me that I needed to get my PIF in right away, as the committee was ready to stop receiving resume’s. So I worked hard the next day and turned it into the committee. Not too long after that I found out that I did not get the call for the associate pastor position! This was hard enough to accept, but even more, I found out that the senior pastor had told the committee to not even consider my PIF because he didn’t think it was right for me. Isn’t that something the committee and I should have decided after an interview? HOWEVER, this rejection led me to Colorado, and then ultimately here to Community Presbyterian. It was difficult to get over the negative events, but as I look back I can see God helping me learn from them, and grow from them. God allowed them to benefit me as a person and as a minister. I believe God prepared me for this call through what I went through both at Trinity Presbyterian, and in Colorado. It makes me appreciate all the more the love and support I receive here!!

c.       Filtering Negative Events- So for us to bring positive out of the

negative in our lives, we have to learn how to filter these experiences through the proper lenses. And there is generally three lenses that will help us here.

            The first lens is the lens of character. Through some of the negative events of our lives, God is calling us to look at the issues that help us to learn about our self-esteem, our confidence level, and ourselves. God is calling us to believe in whom He made us to be. What are the areas of my life/your life where we might be deficient in character?

            The second lens is the lens of relational insight. Through this lens God is bringing to the surface how we relate to and react to people. Too often we let others run over us, or for some of us we might run over other people. We might tend to resist or run away from conflict, even though by running away/  the conflict doesn’t go away. How is God calling us to relate more maturely to others?

            The third lens is the lens of ministry assignment. The truth is, we are all called by God to be involved in some ministry or program. We might not admit it, or we might not seek to get involved, but we are called to get involved. Through negative events, God shows us where he wants us to be serving Him.

Conclusion: Paul tells us in Romans 8:28- “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God…” God can and does bring positive out of our negative experiences. I challenge you to not hide them away, but bring them to the surface, to God, and let Him bring amazing results and insight into your life. Let us praise God this day for how He walks with us in all things. Amen.