(Translation: For negative people, this new year). Hey, by now as you scroll through, you may find your feed swarmed with these:

• Thanks-2019 essays,

• Hello-2020 greetings,

• Best-nine photos,

• Day-1-of-365 tweets,

• And so much more.

As we all recall what the year meant to each of us –  the good memories we want to get a hold of still, and some unfortunate ones we will try harder to forget as days go by. 

New Year. Old fears.

For the majority of us, this has been a custom, but there’s a few who honestly don’t feel like celebrating.  Those that have to muster so much strength just to be thankful, those who find it hard to look at the ‘bright side of things.’

They fear because they know that the new year does not erase old glooms. And that though the year has changed, they fear the sameness of days.

The nega (negative person) can be you, even if you have satisfactorily complied with those social media bandwagons. And the nega is mum to admit things…  because the truth is, 

Though the past year just closed, you still think that the same problems will stay with you for another decade.

Though the fireworks opened up the new year, you rarely believe for new opportunities.

Though it’s a good time to write some new resolutions, you really don’t believe you’re going to change.

That though God has done wonderful things out of sheer mercy and grace for you this year, you find yourself complaining and grumbling, more than thanking and praising Him.

.. . . . . . . .

What our negativity really says about us.

Our negativity – the words we say, the things we do, our irks and demands – all point  to something more and something deeper. It reflects our hopes or lack of hopes. That the truth of the matter is this….

1. We anticipate the problems because we are more beholden to them rather than to God.
2. We no longer hope for breakthroughs because we have also stopped trusting God’s capacity to give them.
3. We dismiss the possibility of changing, because we trust our flesh more to do the hard work, rather than yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit in you.
4. We routinely complain and grumble, because we may not have totally understood that we are always in good hands when we surrender to God – because above all, He desires our ultimate joy, more than we desire it for ourselves.

I got this. God doesn’t.

We have grown negative, because somewhere in our journey in the faith, we believed and somewhere along the way, we were left disappointed. And in our disappointment, we prod ourselves to conclude that maybe God’s got it all wrong. Maybe He is wrong. When the truth is, we are.

And if I’m playing the ‘safe’ Christian’s side that translates as – “I can trust Him, for so long as it serves me well, at this moment, and at this time, but the moment that it no longer does –  it’s time to lie low, gradually isolate, lessen prayer time, look less desperate, keep it all together, suck it all in, and  deny the emptiness.  And if these don’t work out well – at extreme ends, the option is to burn bridges.”  It all sounds like our faith is anchored to our convenience rather than to our conviction.

Our being negative is mainly rooted and reinforced by a wrong view of who God is. 

Hope for Nega Christians.

In blunt Filipino style  – frank and candid, can I ask… “Nega ka ba?”

Before we all fall into the pit of dangerous introspection, the Word of God is a good solid ground to start with.  While it is true that our thoughts and feelings reveal a nugget of truth, it does not reveal the whole picture. 

The story goes this way:

Twelve spies were sent.

Ten came home with bad reports

These bad reports were not just statement of facts, God exposed them for what they really were…… 

They saw my glory and the great signs that I did in Egypt and in the desert. But they disobeyed me and tested me ten times. ….How long will these evil people continue to complain against me? I have heard their complaints and their griping.  (Numbers 14:22,27)

God knew better, they weren’t just really reporting, they were also complaining. It’s a fearful thing that God does not only hear our loud prayers, but he also hears our silent sighs,  our secret complaints, our discreet grumbling, and our unspoken contempt.  

On the other hand,

Two came home with good reports,

One was Joshua, the other, Caleb. 

But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. (Numbers 14:24)

The thing is, all the twelve saw the same thing but they responded differently.  The ten responded with negativity, and even felt right about their skepticism. However, Caleb, one of the two, responded differently, because he had a different spirit. It says that he was God’s servant, and he followed Him fully. 

Different spirit. 

Our stance in life, whether positive or negative, is largely rooted in our spiritual life. 

How the Nega conquers.

Because our  “negativity” is not merely a preference of our personalities. It’s not just a ‘tendency’ that we are trying to get rid of.  It’s not just a fleeting feeling that we must constantly guard ourselves from committing. Our negativity (our capacity to find faults, impossibilities, and excuses), and our positivity (our capacity to respond in faith and trust God) are tightly knit with our relationship with Him or lack thereof.

Those who have grown in intimacy with God, may see the problem, but by God’s grace are led to fix their eyes on so much more – the God who can work wonders, who comes through. The God who gives hope, and who is Hope. 

Hope. Pag-asa. 

It’s the start of the year, of a new decade. May we let this verse ring a bell, once again, Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.“

HOPE.

To the nega in you, there’s hope.

Things will not always be the way it used to be. Fear not.

Let’s live that, like we mean it,

Let’s live that, because He meant it. 

So let’s breathe praise, and start these shenanigans…

Thanks-2019 essays,

Hello-2020 greetings,

Best-nine photos,

Day-1-of-365 tweets.

Offering them unto the Lord, who lets us live another day, breathe another breath – all by sheer grace and mercy. Knowing very well that we don’t deserve it. Oh, what kind and good God do we have. What unfailing Friend and Savior do we have in Christ. 

The Nega conquers the moment he/she heartily exclaims,

“Thank You, Lord!”

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18