Wrestled to the Ground

In trying to wrestle negativity down, in myself and in my staff, I’ve gained a valuable insight.

Suppose that where I stand represents the present in the context of time. To my left is an overview of my past. To my right is my future as far as I can penetrate it. When I turn left to examine my past, I am flooded with a feeling of gratitude. I can see how generous God has been with me--the family I grew up in, the wife I was given, the children and grandchildren, the honors He bestowed, the friends, the travel, the responsibilities, salvation. Everything seems calibrated to make me happy. I feel like, if God added nothing more to my life I’d have enough to praise Him forever.

But when I turn to view the future on my right, all I see is uncertainty, darkness; all I feel is fear. Why is that? If God’s leading all these years has been so gentle, so generous, how can I turn around and assume my future will be different? Why do I construe what I face today into a threat to my future? Will I, in eternity, be able to point to a time when God made a mistake in my case? I think not!

God, who “is the orderer of all our experiences,” only “orders that which His providence sees best.” “[He] never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led if they could see the end from the beginning.” (IHP 265; MH 217; DA 224:5)

For all who love God, that means that had we been in heaven before we were born, and had we been granted the privilege of choosing the experiences we would have in this world as fallen beings, we would have picked the very experiences God is choosing for us today. We would find no way to improve upon God’s providences.

Friends, knowing this should put a smile on our faces, praises on our lips, and a song in our hearts. Then, negativity under any circumstance becomes understandably unreasonable.

So there! Murnuring, complaining, criticizing, whining, and all other forms of negativity are once and for all wrestled to the ground.