Using The Negative in a Positive Way - God Does It All the Time

I loved Norman Vincent Peale's, Power of Positive Thinking as much as any book I have ever read. I have read Napoleon Hill's books and I am an ardent believer in almost everything Dale Carnegie ever wrote. I have notes scribbled on the back pages of my Bible from Carnegie's?How to Win Friends and Influence people, albeit I refused to read it at first thinking the title was too corny. For years now I have both pondered and studied the effects of positive thinking and talking, as against negative thinking. I have agonizingly and carefully begun to approach something that might at last qualify for a conclusion.

The sum of my conclusions could be found in one single verse of the Bible. And we know that all things work together for good to them who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 KJVThe key words in this passage being "all Things." That is understood to mean the negative and the positive.

Few believers would not agree that difficulties and problems are part of the building of our faith and character. But in today's world of positive thinking buffs it would be a weakness, an admission of defeat or even an act of faithlessness to even make mention of our problems. God has warned us that we will have tribulation in this world so who are these believers who seem to think that just to mention them would be faithless or negative. Since Jesus said it is enough that we be like the master (Mt. 10:25) then mentioning our troubles is no different than what our Master did. Jesus also said that we should be of "good cheer" when we were beset with troubles. The Apostle Peter said we should "count it all joy" when our faith was tried. It would seem that God is looking not for people who deny problems but face them differently than anyone else. The negative kept, silent or spoken openly has much less effect on our future than you imagine. Conversely, how you handle these matters has a more profound effect than you can imagine. God, it would seem, is watching the latter more than the former because after all this life is more of a battle ground than a playground according to the Bible.

Can the painful moaning of a dying soldier be thought of as complaints? Can that same moaning take anything away from the debt of gratitude a nation may feel for his sacrifice? A little show of pain isn't an alliance with the negative forces of the universe it is merely a show of our humanity and our vulnerability. But today there are those who would rebuke us for even the slightest hint that we are undergoing pain, a problem or a negative outcome of any kind.

I was amazed to see that when Christianity Today reviewed Joel Osteen's, Your Best life Now, that they were not squeamish about saying that his emphasis on being positive became a negative. I couldn't have agreed more. I see negative and positive together in this world but above that I see the will of God unfolding through it all. When I put my key in the ignition of my car as I prepare to drive to a crowded interstate highway, I see that as positive. I don't think I will die in a huge accident, but just before I take off I do a very negative thing, I buckle up! God forbid I had to explain why I was doing that to a pathological positive thinker. To speak out loud that I may get in an accident after all would be the grand no-no.

The outcome of wars is often accurately predicted by military analysts that delve into the negative. That is they take the worst case scenario and make provision for that occurrence and thereby are prepared for such with contingencies. It Works, ask Norman Swartzkoff. Dale Carnegie advised many people to do this in order to take away the nagging power of doubt. The banana grower who was afraid that the trains might stop running before the crop could make it to market was told to envision that very thing. He made contingency plans, perhaps two or three of them and then he got on with the Business of growing bananas without any further worry. He was told to see and plan for the negative to clear the path for a positive experience. Are you paying attention?

By now someone is saying, but God spoke