Being positive is easy for me. It’s hard to be negative. But when a negative gloom settles on my shoulders, it’s hard to become positive. When I’m up, then I see the world differently. When I’m down, “Head for the Hills!”
Surprisingly, negativity is a battle I face myself all the time.
It’s easy to think only of oneself and be grumpy when things aren’t going your way. Maybe the key is that I like things a certain way. Yes, I’ve learned to go with the flow of life, but I’m no pushover! I want things a certain way!
When I hear negative, there’s something in me that rebels and looks for the idea of a positive outcome.
Dealing With The Negative
Nehemiah had a dilemma… Jerusalem lay in ruins, the people were conquered, and it seemed all was lost. The walls are torn down, the gates of entry have been burned, and the people are without a focus. (Nehemiah 1:1-3)
I’m in a Christian Bookseller group to publish my book. There, I said it! It’s in the public domain. I’m writing a book. One thing I learned at the offset, have a business meeting with God. Whoa! That’s a challenge. We want to do what we want even if we don’t have the Chairman’s approval. Right?
Well, Nehemiah had a prayer meeting, and he talked to God!
So it was, when I heard these words,
that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days;
I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
(Nehemiah 1:4 NKJV)
Prayer takes time. It’s not an instantaneous event that solves all of life’s challenges with a snap of the fingers. Sometimes it’s days of praying, weeping, and fasting – but still living as you are called to live.
Maybe this is just me. I like to think on my feet while moving toward a solution. Maybe that’s how David lived the challenge of Goliath. He prayed as he ran at the problem!
You cannot be guilty of selling your solution to the highest authority
and then falter when you face the trenches.
Nehemiah had a foundation of prayer! He confessed his sins and those of his people. He reminded God of His warning given back in the times of Moses. Equally, he remembered the blessings promised to a people who kept God in their focus.
This is a story like the parable of the Prodigal that Jesus taught!
Maybe the parable was a culmination of Nehemiah’s situation! The prodigal comes to his senses, lays out his situation before God, and remembers the Blessings of Home!
It’s Not Just in Your Prayer Closet
You can be positive in the boardroom of life (prayer closet),
but what do you do when your feet hit the ground,
and you’re staring at the obstacles and listening to the rejection?
We learn something about Nehemiah at the end of the first chapter. He is the King’s Cupbearer. He had a role that always put him in the King’s presence! Opportunity!
Nehemiah could not hide his sadness, and when asked about his thoughts, he laid out the situation before the King.
But understand something of value. Every time the King asked a question, Nehemiah gave him positive answers! (Read it here.)
Right there, I learned something. Did you get it? The answer to a potentially negative response is to have a positive reply. It’s not just once or every other time. It was all the time. Keep your thoughts flowing Positively!
Look at negative speech as an opportunity to have a positive reply!
You are talking to the King, the one person who can make it happen! Be positive! Every question the King had, Nehemiah had a positive answer. But he heard the news of his homeland (Nehemiah 1:1-3) We could spend a lot of time analyzing Nehemiah’s next steps, but there is something foundational at work here.
Feet To The Ground, Hands to the Task
Nehemiah makes it to the homeland. Reality sets in. He sees the devastation. Now what?
He presents the letters from the king to the regional authorities. Essentially they said he had come to check on the welfare of his people. This disturbed a few folks. Then he went to Jerusalem for three days. To keep his plans quiet, he toured the ruins at night when no one could guess what was happening.
And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I had done;
I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, or the others who did the work.
Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.”
Nehemiah 2:16-17 NKJV
Come on! We can do it! If ever we need to be cheerleaders of potentiality, it is now! Today! We can do it!
When he started the restoration process, the inhabitants were against it. They came out to a protest rally!
- “…they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:15 NKJV)
- But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?” Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”(Nehemiah 4:1-3 NKJV)
Lay out enough negative speech, and you will drive some away from the task. That’s how the ball bounces. Too often, we listen to the negative and let it compile into an obstacle we cannot overcome.
Where Positivity Takes Us: Lay out enough negative speech, and you will drive some away from the task. Too often, we listen to the negative and let it compile into an obstacle we cannot overcome. But… Consider the options! Focus on… Click To TweetThe Reality
The reality? Most negative results begin in our minds. Somewhere in our past, we allowed the negative bug to take up residence. We feed it, nurture it, and let it be the first voice we hear. Even if the opportunity is legit, the negative wins the day!
Even with the best intentions, Nehemiah could have stayed negative at the onset and never left the King’s side. He had a cushy job! The news was negative, so why not be negative?
But that’s not Nehemiah’s life!
What would you do were you in his shoes?
Persistence. Perspective. Progress. You could open your toolbox of life and choose any word you want. The key is that Nehemiah pushed the effort forward until it was completed!
So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
Nehemiah 6:15-16 NKJV
Fifty-two days. Nehemiah hears the news of his homeland in the month of Chislev (Kislev). This equates to November. The job is done in Elul. This is our August. From hearing, praying, petitioning, travel documents, planning, executing, and managing all the expectations along the way, we have an approximate nine-month window. A very pregnant life with great delivery!
Nothing is completed overnight. It begins, processes, and ends in God’s Timing.