There's Got to be a Pony

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)

You might think being positive or negative is just built into you. "Well, I'm just a negative person." Or, "I'm just a positive person." There was a set of twin boys. One was super negative, always looking at the dark side of life, and the other was super positive. Their parents didn't know what to do with them, so they took them to a child psychiatrist.

The doctor said, "Let's try something for their next birthday. Put their gifts in two different rooms so they can't see each other's. For the boy who's always negative, fill his room with all kinds of wonderful presents. For the boy who's always positive, put a pile of manure in his room. Then write down your observations."

The birthday comes. They open the door for the negative boy, and he walks into a room full of great toys. And what does he say? "I don't even like the color of this one. I know a kid who's got a bigger car than this. This little gadget is already out of date, there's a new one out now. And if I play with this too much, it's just going to break." Negative, negative, negative. They couldn't believe he couldn't see the good right in front of him.

Then they open the door for the positive boy, the one with the pile of manure. And there he is, jumping up and down, throwing it everywhere, hollering, "Whoopee!" They say, "Son, what in the world are you doing?" And he said, "With all this manure, there's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"

So is it just in you? Are you simply wired to be positive or negative?

Here's the truth. As a child of God, Christians ought to be the most positive people on the earth. We ought to be more positive than anybody, because we've read our Bibles. We have a future hope in heaven. We understand what's really going on in the world when other people don't have a clue. The reason Paul could say "Rejoice in the Lord always" and then turn around and say it again is not because his circumstances were good. He wrote those words from a prison cell.

That's the difference the gospel makes. The negative man in the room full of blessings still found a way to complain. The believer with every reason to despair still finds a reason to rejoice, because his joy isn't anchored to what's in the room. It's anchored to the Lord.

Reflection: When you walk into your circumstances tomorrow, will you complain about the toys or dig for the pony?

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times I've stood in a room full of Your blessings and only seen what was wrong. Teach me to rejoice in You always, no matter what room I find myself in. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Adapted from: "Staying Positive in a Negative World": https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/d6xvd3t/11-staying-positive-in-a-negative-world-eph-3-1-13